Long-term care in Spain: Difficulties in professionalizing services

• Published in: Journal of women & aging Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 200 - 215
• Main Authors: Moreno-Colom, Sara, Recio Càceres, Carolina, Torns Martín, Teresa, Borràs Català, Vicent
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Routledge 04.05.2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Aging; Caregivers; Caregivers - psychology; Community Health Services - methods; Community Health Services - organization & administration; Culture; Economic factors; Families & family life; family; Family - psychology; Females; gender; home care; Humans; ideal care; Law; Long term care insurance; Long term health care; Long-Term Care - legislation & jurisprudence; Long-Term Care - organization & administration; Long-Term Care - psychology; Older people; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - psychology; Professionalization; Public Health Administration - legislation & jurisprudence; Public services; residential care; social care; Sociocultural factors; Spain; Spain; home care; gender; residential care; ideal care; Aging; social care; family
• ISSN: 0895-2841; 1540-7322
• DOI: 10.1080/08952841.2015.1125699

The aim of this article is to analyze the difficulties in professionalizing the long-term care system in Spain. Since 2006, the new Spanish law has recognized care as a subjective right, and regulations are being designed to create a framework for its professionalization. Nowadays, family remains the most important group of providers who care for their elders, and women remain the main informal caregivers. Why do families resist using public long-term care services and professional carers included in the new law? The hypothesis highlights sociocultural factors as an obstacle to professionalization of long-term care services in addition to political and economic factors. The results show qualitative data about expectations, preferences, and discourses that women caregivers have in relation to their responsibility. The empirical material includes 25 interviews with different profiles of caregivers and six focus groups with family caregivers. The article suggests that the Spanish ideal of care is a problem for the professionalization of services because the family remains as the main provider of care-without specific skills, knowledge, and abilities.