Home care development in Korea and Germany: The interplay of long-term care and professionalization policies |
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Authors: | Hildegard Theobald Yongho Chon |
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Institution: | 1. Faculty for Education and Social Science, Gerontology, University of Vechta, Vechta, Germany;2. Department of Social Welfare, Incheon National University, Incheon, South Korea |
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Abstract: | The aim of the study was to compare the effects of long-term care and professionalization policies on the development of home care infrastructure and the care workforce in reference to long-term care insurance systems adopted in Germany and Korea. A comparative analysis of the effects of the two policy systems allowed us to examine distinct forms of marketized home care service expansion. In both countries, the opening-up of care markets has brought about a significant expansion of home care services through the active participation of mainly for-profit providers. However, a trade-off between the rate of expansion, the quality of care services, and the stability of care infrastructure has emerged. The market-based expansion of home care services has resulted in difficult employment and working conditions for care workers in both countries. The country-specific organization of home care and related professionalization approaches has led to the development of a well-trained care workforce with less precarious conditions in Germany but not in Korea. Despite this difference, less well-trained care workers experience precarious employment in both countries. |
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Keywords: | care worker cross-country comparison home care long-term care marketization professionalization |
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