Newsletter 01
Spring 2025 - Issue 1
Insight into the LeTs-Care Project
The LeTs-Care project (Learning from Long-Term Care Practices for the European Care Strategy) is a comparative research project which aims at identifying and diffusing meaningful policies and practices to face the challenges of long-term care.
The LeTs-Care Consortium includes academic institutions and organisations engaged in advocacy and evidence-based policy development from Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and The Netherlands.
To contribute to the development of integrated, person-centred, equal, high-quality care and employment in care, the LeTs-Care research team is addressing key questions.
To better understand the challenges, opportunities and constraints in long-term care (LTC), the LeTs-Care research team is addressing four key questions:
- What are the main challenges that European LTC systems are facing? There is broad consensus that four common challenges affect LTC systems across Europe: the affordability and accessibility of care; the quality of care; the quality of care work; inequality and sustainability. However, there remains a lack of systematic and comprehensive understanding of how these challenges take shape and are interpreted within different national and local contexts. The first phase of the project aims to contextualise these challenges through a combination of literature review, analysis of policy documents and institutional data, and expert interviews with stakeholders and key informants.
- What solutions can improve LTC quality and accessibility? The project will examine both emerging and established LTC practices aimed at promoting care integration and innovation, viewing them as revealing of underlying tensions and of the limited and uneven possibilities for reconciling those tensions. In doing so, LeTs-Care will shift the focus from whether practices work to understanding how they work, for whom, under what conditions, and at what cost. The second phase of the project investigates these emerging and promising practices in their specific contexts through organisational ethnographies.
- How can families, service providers, academia, and legislators work together to improve LTC systems? To better understand and address the challenges facing LTC, LeTs-Care emphasises the importance of a collaborative approach that brings together stakeholders, researchers, and policymakers. The project aims to support the development of comprehensive, context-sensitive policies that respond to the diverse needs of ageing populations across Member States, by fostering stronger connections among these key actors. At the heart of this effort is a shift toward a new model of policy learning that moves beyond the search for “best practices” to focus instead on “meaningful practices” rooted in local realities and shared experience.
The Challenges and Future of Long-Term Care in the EU
The challenges facing long-term care (LTC) in Europe require a concerted effort that links scholarly research with the perspectives of significant stakeholders, in the policy and practices sectors.
Voices from the frontlines of care. Five years ago, Agustin, a Filipino migrant worker, arrived to Spain in pursuit of a better future and of a steady income for his family back home. He currently works as a live-in carer for a 90-year-old man. When he started to work, Augustin had no professional training in caring and learned on the job as he helps with everyday duties and companionship. Despite his commitment, he finds it difficult to uphold standards of high-quality treatment due to a lack of official credentials and organised support. Agustin hopes to obtain formal vocational training, which would guarantee improved working conditions and a path to career advancement.
Concerns over working conditions are expressed by Eva, a certified nurse from Poland, employed at an assisted living facility. “We try to give the most appropriate and professional care we can, but the workload keeps growing and our shifts are exhausting. We could guarantee a better level of care for our older patients if only there were more staff and we were better organised.
In the meantime, the director of an Italian nursing home describes the growing difficulties as they deal with limited funds and an ageing population. “When their problems worsen, our residents need more complex medical and psychological care, but they also come in need of fundamental social support. With less and fewer resources, we are expected to deliver high-quality services.”
Policymakers and service providers have to juggle a wide range of perspectives, demands and constraints from caregivers, institutional managers and family members. Tackling the challenges of long-term care requires policies that integrate evidence from different fields and consider both social and economic implications.
Reflections on the future of LTC in the EU. When the LeTs-Care project was conceptualised, the world was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis highlighted the need for improved healthcare services, long-term social policies for senior citizens and better assistance for those who are unable to support themselves. It also revealed serious flaws in long-term care systems. These priorities still need to be addressed urgently.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, laid out a plan for a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive Europe in her political guidelines for 2024–2029. However, security and the building of a defence system for the entire EU are now the main priorities due to recent geopolitical developments. The long-term sustainability of a complete Social Deal that complements the Green Deal is still up in the air, despite the fact that several EU member states have promised not to shift cohesion funds.
At a time when Europe faces unprecedented challenges, including war on its doorstep, climate and digital transformations, and fierce global competition, it is essential to uphold the fundamental values of democracy, solidarity, human rights, equality, social justice, sustainability, and the rule of law.
The crisis’s numbers. The ageing population of Europe is increasing at a startling rate, according to official data from EUROSTAT. The burden on LTC services is increasing since more than 20% of EU citizens are 75+ years of age (or older), and estimates suggest that this number will increase to about 30% by 2050. At the same time, the sector is experiencing a growing scarcity of labour, and many EU nations are depending on migrant workers to fill care-giving positions, frequently in precarious conditions.
A need to invest in LTC and cooperate. In line with the objectives of the EU Care Strategy, building a high-quality and sustainable long-term care system requires not only collaboration but also concrete investment. To ensure accessible, person-centred care, policymakers, service providers, across the public, profit and social economy sectors, families, and care recipients must work together. This shared effort must be backed by long-term investment in care infrastructure, workforce/skills development, and community-based services, making collaboration the driving force behind inclusive and resilient care models. By fostering deeper cooperation and shared understanding among key stakeholders, the EU can shape comprehensive and context-sensitive LTC policies that respond to the diverse realities of ageing across Member States. Such policies must be rooted in reflexivity and be able to adapt to demographic shifts and evolving societal needs, while also supporting informed choices for both caregivers and those in need of care. Strengthening these collaborative ties is essential not only to ensure continuity of investment in LTC systems, but also to reinforce social cohesion and solidarity across generations.
The LeTs-Care dissemination appointments
Follow us in key conferences and other events in Europe and beyond.
- ESPAnet Austria 7. Forschungskonferenz Sozialpolitik – University of Innsbruck (Austria), 24-25 April 2025
- 2025 RSA Annual Conference: Navigating Regional Transformation – University of Porto (Portugal), 5 May
2025 - 7th Transforming Care Conference – University of Helsinki (Finland), 25-27 June 2025
- 5th International Sociological Association Forum of Sociology – Rabat (Morocco), 6-11 July 2025
- XIII Portuguese Congress of Sociology: Democracies on trial: risks and uncertainties – University of Azores
(Portugal), 8-11 July 2025
Please, download the abstracts that the Lets-Care researchers will present in these international events >> DOWNLOAD PDF
