Options for Better Quality and More Accessible Long-term Care Services for the Elderly in Poland : Policy Note

Kerschbaumer, Florentin ; Sacha, Wojciech Tomasz ; Sokolo, Audrey ; Sivarajah, Pirathees

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: HEALTH CARE;    LONG-TERM CARE;    SOCIAL CARE;    ELDERLY CARE;    DEPENDENT ELDERLY;   

RP-ID  :  139751

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This note is prepared as a continuationof the long-standing collaboration between the Government ofPoland and the World Bank in the area of Long-Term Care(LTC). Some of the earlier outputs of this collaborationinclude the 2009 report Long-Term Care and Ageing whichexamined the fiscal challenges arising from a growing needfor LTC in the context of an aging society, and the 2015report the Present and Future of Long-Term Care in AgeingPoland, which outlined the key challenges and opportunitiesfor developing a delivery and financing system for LTC forthe elderly. More recently, the 2017 World Bank TechnicalAssistance (TA) culminated in the international conferenceLong Term Care Systems Design and Financing which focusedthe attention of policymakers and the internationalcommunity on options for an integrated LTC system as well asdemonstrating the fiscal and economic implications ofadopting various LTC modalities. Importantly, the conferenceshowcased the capacity of the World Bank to convene a broadrange of stakeholders and to bring the latest know how tosupport this agenda. The LTC agenda is receiving muchattention in Poland’s public debate. Rapid populationageing, a result of increasing longevity and decliningfertility, generated significant demographic challenges andit is now clear that these necessitate adjustments to thecurrent LTC system. Eurostat forecasts that the old-agedependency ratio will increase from 14 to 28 percent of thepopulation by 2060. The older the population will become,the more people will face difficulties with regards to theiractivities of daily living and the higher will be theincidence of dependency in the overall population. This, inturn, spurs increases in the demand for various forms ofcare, both medical and social. Some of this demand is met byfamilies through provision of familial care. However,informal care provision negatively affects earning andincomes of families and contributes to the overall laborshortage in the country. Continuous reforms are thereforeneeded, both in the health and social sectors, as well as inthe labor market to meet these emerging needs.