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The InCARE project will contribute to the design  of a coherent and coordinated approach to the development of national long-term care policy and care services at local and regional level, by establishing socially innovative and participatory decision-making processes.

We work with care users, care provider organizations and policy-makers in Spain, Austria and North Macedonia to design, implement and scale-up innovative care services, with the ultimate goal of improving the well-being of older people and their families and increase their access to adequate and affordable care.

[translated] Let’s not abandon the elderly, they do not deserve that.

Woman, 61
North Macedonia

As a person caring for my spouse I receive a payment from my social protection department to cover my role. This payment amounts to less than 1x€ per hour as I’m needed to be there 24 hrs per day to assist 365 days per year. I think I should receive a better benefit to do this task.

Man, 63
Ireland
[translated -excerpt, emphasis in original text] Home-based assistance offered by the Romanian state to older people DOES NOT EXIST. This is unacceptable. […] for sick people and the elderly the situation is extremely BAD. There is no help. No state funded services to help them at home or in an institution, facilities for the elderly are so bad they are more like prisons or labour camps. I also strongly advise you to do a study and personal visits to psychiatric hospitals, and how mental health is treated in Romania.

Woman, 39
Romania
[translate] I hope your study can contribute to helping older people in need of care.

Man, 26
Romania

“Given the current state of care facilities, I would prefer to take care of my parents/loved ones at home and if I should require services I would prefer to be taken care of at home. The way I view care facilities in their present state is that these facilities provide everything needed to keep a person alive but greatly reduce their quality of life (e.g., loss of dignity, reduced access to meaningful activities and social interaction, loss of agency etc.). I believe it is practical, feasible and in governing bodies best interest in the long term to improve quality of care in these facilities. We now have good evidence for activities/programs that can improve wellbeing and physical health in older adults. We should be utilizing this evidence to improve the lives of older adults. If the quality of care provided in these facilities drastically improves, I would view this as the preferred option. But we are not there yet.”

Woman, 31
Canada
[translated] Long-term care should be almost exclusively the prerogative of state institutions that should have the necessary infrastructure and resources to respond to the needs of older people and their families.

Man, 47
Romania
[translated] Sacrificing one life for another seems unacceptable to me. Everyone should be able to benefit from quality, professional services.

Woman, 38
Romania
[Translated] I lost my father last year (cancer). We kept him at home, with my brothers and sister, almost until the end; we are now looking after our mother. She has been in a nursing home for several months. We take turns every day to get her up, wash her, dress her, feed her and take her out. The staff at the care home is always on leave, there is a high turnover of staff. Not only does my mother pay, we each pay a small part of the accommodation, but we are the ones who take care of her from morning to night. That’s why we are part-time.

Woman, 55
France
[Translated] None of the services I have used have the means to help dependent people with multiple sclerosis. It’s a horror. I have to do everything on my own because the home carers for example can’t come if I’m in hospital or on rehabilitation…the domestic helpers are no longer available, I am not entitled to a transport service … I never qualify. I am revolted. I live alone without family and it’s really hard. I’ve been able to get help at times but it doesn’t last because the budgets are so small. Even people with severe physical disabilities don’t have adequate help. The Aviq [Agence pour une Vie de Qualité] has not been functioning for years… the situation is very serious. And it has become even worse with Covid.

Woman, 40
Belgium
[Translated] I would urgently need support as far as my parents are concerned. They live alone, my father doesn’t speak at all anymore, can’t be reached by phone either, and my mother now and then. I think they both need urgent support, but I can’t talk to them anymore. My mother had a serious brain operation, I was never informed by any doctor, by any nurse, by any social worker…….what can be done, what is available, nothing at all….

Woman, 52
Austria
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