Summary - a picture of care use

The number of older people in the Netherlands is increasing, and people with chronic illnesses are living longer. This is likely to lead to a concomitant increase in care use. In order to control the costs of long-term care, Dutch government policy in this area has undergone radical changes in recent years. This could mean that certain groups have begun using more, less or different types of care.

Author(s): Inger Plaisier, Mirjam de Klerk

ISBN/ISSN/other: 978 90 377 0641 3

This study describes recent developments in community-based care. It covers professional domestic help, personal care and nursing care provided in the home setting. How many people make use of this support, who are they and is this use changing? Have the main determinants of care use changed in recent years? The study charts the changes in the use of community-based care between 2004 and 2011 and examines whether those changes are associated with demographic, socio-economic and/or health characteristics of users.

This study was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

Inger Plaisier is a researcher in the Care, Emancipation and Time Use research sector at SCP. Her research focuses on developments in home care, (mental) health and elder abuse.
Mirjam de Klerk also works in the Care, Emancipation and Time Use research sector. Her research is concerned with informal care, the Social Support Act (Wmo), care use and participation in society by people with disabilities.