This policy brief highlights the importance of examining unmet needs in long-term care (LTC) to ensure the right to affordable and good quality LTC. It presents findings from the DET_CAREMIX project which investigated experiences of caregiving and -receiving in Austria and Slovenia among care-mix users. Results demonstrate diverse barriers to meeting needs. Examples of unmet needs were socializing and support for psychological well-being as well as difficulties linked to frequent staff turnover. Since informal care often steps in where unmet needs occur, the needs of the informal carer should be examined too. These aspects of unmet needs should be taken into account in planning and contracting in LTC systems.
