Aging & Social Change: Twelfth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

The residential care sector for the elderly has been dramatically hit by the pandemic crisis in Europe, particularly during its first wave. High levels of deaths among the elderly have been coupled with the existence of problematic conditions for care workers. Such conditions traditionally affect the residential care sector. Indeed, high turnover, low wages, and limited professional standards are largely predominant in this sector. However, important differences also exist across European countries, shaped by structural factors as the main characteristics of national care regimes. Against this background, the paper explores the configuration of relations between the effects of the pandemic on the residential care sector, the main features of employment conditions, and the predominant characteristics of national care regimes in a comparative perspective. The research considers seven European countries (Sweden, Denmark, United-Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain). Quantitative data from Eurostat and Oecd online databases are analyzed, by considering several indicators. Preliminary results show the existence of specific national clusters, but also the fact that a common configuration of relations between the dimensions analyzed seems not to emerge homogenously across countries. In this sense, a more in-depth analysis of the trajectories of development of the residential care system in each country, as well as the consideration of other potential explanatory factors may represent important dimensions to be considered for further analysis.