Организация постороннего ухода за пожилыми и инвалидами: мотивация обращения к различным поставщикам

Демографическое обозрение. 2021. № 4. С. 60–80.

Sinyavskaya O., Lyubushina E.

The last years of life are often accompanied by health deterioration, emergence of functional limitations that prevent the preservation of autonomy, and, as a result, the need for long-term care increases. The unavailability of care or its poor quality can negatively affect the quality of life.

This paper contributes to the discussion about the long-term care organization. In the domestic scientific literature, the institutional features of the long-term care system organization and various care providers have been largely studied, but there are practically no studies of the preferences of various population groups that form the demand for care. The aim of this paper is to analyze the preferences and willingness of Russian regions population to turn to formal and informal care providers for the elderly and people with disabilities.

The empirical basis of this paper are data of focus groups and semi-structured interviews conducted in the Republic of Tatarstan (2020-2021) and in the Republics of North Ossetia-Alania and Karelia, in the Oryol region (2019). The results of qualitative studies show that the population of the regions is rather conservative about long-term care. In a situation of hypothetical choice, older people would prefer the help of relatives, and younger people in general are ready to provide it, sometimes requesting support from professionals. At the same time, among the formal care providers, state social workers are most in demand. A common feature of the population attitudes towards the long-term system is the unwillingness to pay for care.

Keywords: пожилые люди, интервью, фокус-группы, elderly people, long-term care, долговременный уход, поставщики социальных услуг, interviews, external care, care providers, population preferences, focus groups, посторонний уход, предпочтения населения