German
ItalianEUROFAMCARE is an international research project funded within the 5th Framework Programme of the European Community, Key Action 6: The Ageing Population and Disabilities, 6.5: Health and Social Care Services to older People, Contract No QLK6-CT-2002-02647 "EUROFAMCARE". It does not necessarily reflect the Commission's view and in no way anticipates its future policy in this area.
In the year 2003 six countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom) have formed a trans-European group, systematically rep-resenting the different types of welfare-states in Europe and started a comparative study. Each country collected data from about 1,000 family carers who care at least four hours a week for their dependent elderly (65+) family members in different regional sites. The family carers were interviewed face-to-face at home using a joint family care assessment.
The views of potential service providers involved were obtained in the year 2004. Quantitative and qualitative data of these interviews were entered in National Data Sets and a European data base for cross-national analysis. A typology of care settings will be developed considering examples of good practice and beneficial and obstructive circumstances.
Pan-European expertise, knowledge and background information about the support, relief and expertise of family carers recognising the variety of the different social-, health- and welfare systems in a future Europe have been achieved by reviews and expert interviews in the six project countries plus 17 further European countries.
AGE - the European Older People's Platform - as a member of the con-sortium is contacting and informing policy makers and NGOs on the Euro-pean level and measuring the development of action for family carers. AGE aims to raise more awareness about the issue of family care and to stimulate the political discourse.
A socio-economic evaluation on the basis of the National Surveys and the pan-European background information will calculate the economic conse-quences from perceived quality of life to European-wide politico-economic implications.
The last step is a feedback research action phase based both on the study results and on the pan-European expertise. A European Carers' Charter in progress will be further developed by the new European network organisation EUROCARERS in order to stimulate further activities both on national and European policy levels.
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The 5th Framework Programme 'Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources'
Contract QLK6-CT-2002-02647
Total budget: EURO 2,417,000
January 2003 - December 2005
