Agenda

16 Sep 2026 12:15

Heber Davila (Ca' Foscari University of Venice)

Meeting Room 1, San Giobbe Economics Campus + online

 

Heber Davila (Ca' Foscari University of Venice) - Frailty and long-term care systems in Europe: Aligning care demand and supply through care needs assessments

 

Abstract:

Frailty is a dynamic condition of vulnerability that is strongly associated with the need for long-term care (LTC). European countries determine eligibility for publicly financed LTC through heterogeneous care needs assessments (CNAs), making it unclear how comparable levels of need translate into entitlements across systems. We compare how country-specific CNA rules map a common measure of frailty into eligibility for publicly financed LTC. We conducted a cross-sectional comparative study using nationally representative individual-level data from Wave 9 (2022) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). We included adults aged 65 years and older from eight European countries with national standardized care needs assessments documented in the Global Gateway to Aging LTC Policy Explorer. We constructed a harmonized frailty index and applied harmonized country-specific care needs assessment algorithms to a pooled sample. Prospective eligibility varied substantially across countries, ranging from 6.5% in Slovakia to 22.8% in Germany. Countries also differed markedly in the frailty level at which eligibility began and expanded. Applying historical CNA algorithms to the same pooled population further showed that major LTC reforms shifted eligibility thresholds over time. Differences in the design of LTC system CNAs substantially shape potential access to publicly financed LTC for individuals with similar levels of need, with important implications for the equity, efficiency and sustainability of LTC systems.

 

The seminar can be attended also remotely, connecting to ZOOM.

Link Zoom: bit.ly/insem-2425
ID riunione:  880 2639 9452
Passcode: InSem-2425

Language

The event will be held in English

Organized by

Department of Economics (InSeminars)

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