Source: Own illustration based on data from European Central Bank Statistics, OECD National Accounts Statistics and Eurostat Database, EU-SILC.

Housing affordability has become a central issue in recent years as some population groups find themselves priced out of the housing market in some European countries or cities. Although the financial crisis depressed housing prices, these have in the meantime recovered in most countries. Disposable income however, particularly among lower income households, has yet to increase significantly, with housing costs representing nowadays a significant financial burden on low income families. The share of households "overburdened" by housing costs (i.e. the latter represent more than 40% of disposable income) ranges from between 33%-34% in Hungary and Italy, to 42-43% in the UK and the Netherlands. Countries have implemented housing allowances to alleviate this problem, and although these allowances overwhelming target the poor, their poverty reducing impact is somewhat limited. Detailed account of why this is the case, further results and policy implications can be found in the original research note and in a policy brief by Eszter Zólyomi and Katarina Hollan.

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The use of both formal (home-based care services) and informal care across Europe is unequally distributed among income groups, with poorer individuals using significantly more long-term care. In the case of home-based care, differences in utilization basically reflect differences in needs: less affluent older people have, on average, poorer health. Only in Denmark and Estonia (both pro-poor) and Italy and Spain (both pro-rich) is the distribution of home care use inequitably distributed across income groups. For informal care, however, there is strong evidence (9 out of the 15 countries considered) that poorer older people disproportionately use this type of care even after accounting for different needs. This may suggest financial barriers in accessing home care services. Detailed results and a discussion of policy implications can be found in the original research articles by Ricardo Rodrigues and Stefania Ilinca (and Andrea E. Schmidt) in EuroHealth, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and Health Economics.

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The framework outlines what the fulfilment of universal human rights necessitates when applied to the case of older people with care and support needs and is organised according to three key domains:

1. Desired outcomes: fulfilment of rights;
2. Enabling processes: monitoring and enforcement; and
3. Structural conditions: legal recognition.

These correspond with three areas across which the implementation of fundamental rights can be measured: results (outcome indicators); effort (process indicators); and commitment (structural indicators). The framework was developed as part of the ongoing project, “From disability rights towards a rights-based approach to long-term care in Europe: Building an index of rights-based policies for older people”.

More information on the project and deliverables to date can be found here: http://www.euro.centre.org/projects/detail/85

Our framework attempts to capture the complexities and interdependencies inherent to the organization of community-based dementia care along the disease trajectory, recognizing the roles played by the various actors involved. Furthermore, we include the socio-cultural, economic, and legal and governance context of community care for people with dementia in our framework.

While we do not develop each of these dimensions in depth, we emphasize instead how each interacts with and affects the organization and quality of community-based care by linking them with 5 core tensions, or ‘Tension Points’ within the system. more...