Community-dwelling older adults and their informal carers call for more attention to psychosocial needs – Interview study on unmet care needs in three European countries

Social care need in multimorbidity

“… 5 It can also be understood from the perspective of whether an individual’s needs are being optimally met in relation to receiving both formal and informal care. 8 , 9 In this context, the need for care support can be further categorised as ‘no need, met need, undermet need, and unmet need’. 10 The literature mainly addresses unmet need, which is critical to care outcomes, in particular, ‘understanding the patterns of unmet need for support to maintain independence could aid practitioners to deliver care to people who are most in need’.…”

“…Beyond this, the ‘concept of need in care services remains contested, given the wide range of eligibility rules and definitions’ employed worldwide. 9 Hence, there is no universally recognised definition or measure of SCN, although it is estimated in various ways. 5 Typically, the baseline for defining SCN in many countries is a person’s capability to undertake activities of daily living (ADL), such as personal hygiene, dressing, eating, maintaining continence and transferring/functional mobility.…”

“… 14 While I/ADL assessments of care need are relatively straightforward to define, wider psycho-social and socio-economic needs are more difficult to measure objectively. 9 These challenges associated with measurement may also partly explain limitations with current definitions of SCN.…”

“…As a result of a lack of clarity both conceptually and operationally in defining and measuring SCN, research evidence is limited. 7 To date, ‘service systems’ 9 driven definitions of SCN have primarily informed research agendas, 15 resulting in current evidence emphasising the fulfilment of care tasks, ‘caring for’ – overlooking the emotional or relational aspects of ‘caring about’. 9 There is also a paucity of longitudinal studies to assess trajectories in care need over time.…”

“… 7 To date, ‘service systems’ 9 driven definitions of SCN have primarily informed research agendas, 15 resulting in current evidence emphasising the fulfilment of care tasks, ‘caring for’ – overlooking the emotional or relational aspects of ‘caring about’. 9 There is also a paucity of longitudinal studies to assess trajectories in care need over time. 4 More generally, there is insufficient ‘good quality data’ 4 relating to certain aspects of SCN, including, unmet need.…”