Findings from Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority Yields New Data on Caring Science (Gender disparities in German home-care arrangements)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Science Letter -- Investigators publish new report on Science. According to news reporting originating from Nurnberg, Germany, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "An ageing population correlates with rising needs for long-term care (LTC). Support programmes should consider the specific needs of the various subgroups of care dependents and family caregivers."

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, "The objective of this study was to analyse the gender-specific disparities in home-care arrangements in Germany, and for this purpose, survey and insurance claims data were used. A survey of 2545 insured care recipients with high-level care needs was conducted in 2012 with the Barmer GEK, a major German statutory healthcare insurance. Insurance claims data were provided for a follow-up, focussing on the group aged 60years and older. For statistical comparison, chi-squared test and t-tests were used, and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Most care recipients are female, and they are on average 2years older than males. Men receive family care mostly from their wives, whereas widows frequently live alone and receive care from daughters, sons, other relatives, neighbours and friends, as well as from professional nursing services. Furthermore, women more often anticipate the need for (further) professional assistance and move in with a relative or to an assisted living facility or a nursing home in good time. The desired rate for relocation to a nursing home was higher than the anticipated, and during the 6-month follow-up, the actual rate of relocations was in between both. In summary, the caring situation of men and women is different. Care-receiving men are most often cared for by their wives. Widowed women need a social network and their children in order to remain in their own home. To provide better home-care arrangements for women in this situation, the family and social networks need a stronger focus in politics and research."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "To stabilise the home-care situation of men with high-level care needs, their wives need more support."

For more information on this research see: Gender disparities in German home-care arrangements. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 2016;30(1):164-174. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences can be contacted at: Wiley-Blackwell, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - www.wiley.com/; Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1471-6712)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting L. Dorin, Bavarian Hlth & Food Safety Author, Qual Hlth Care Hlth Econ Hlth Syst Anal GE6, Nurnberg, Germany. Additional authors for this research include E. Krupa, S. Metzing and A. Buscher (see also Science).

Keywords for this news article include: Europe, Germany, Science, Nurnberg

Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2016, NewsRx LLC