Long-Term Care Economics and Policy

While Health Economics is a relatively recent, but well-acknowledged part of the economic discipline, the economics of long-term care is not. The economic aspect of (long-term) care has high economic potential and requires economic analysis. Some specific parts of this topic, like the special role of family members, make it impossible to use results from health economics in the debates over long-term care.

It therefore makes sense to develop an independent research thrust in the field of long-term care economics, promoted at SOCIUM. We maintain good contact to the Department of Human- and Health Sciences (Dept. 11 of the University of Bremen), especially to the section Interdisciplinary Research in Geriatrics and Nursing of the Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research. Beyond that, our division participates in the working group Long-Term Care-Economics, which is a part of the so-called Pflegeforschungsverbünde funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung [Ministry for Education and Research]. Topics of current projects include, for instance, the causes and trajectories of long term care (BARMER GEK Pflegereport), possibilities for more efficiency and efficacy in home care through the introduction of the RAI (Resident Assessment Instrument), the reimbursement of nursing homes, and the influence of preventive home visits on institutionalization in geriatric care.