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No. 3/2015: Informal caregivers - Germany’s largest nursing service

In recent decades, life expectancy within the population has increased significantly. Many older people spend a large part of these extra years in mostly good health. Because of this demographic ageing however, the total number of older people with age and illness-related limitations is increasing. Of these, many are dependent on help or professional care be it temporarily or in the longer term. Permanent nursing and support of care dependent persons is therefore becoming an ever more important part of healthcare provision. The voluntary support of those affected offered by informal caregivers (i. e. family, friends and neighbours) makes an important and positive contribution toward living together in partnership as well as to cohesion of the generations. A person’s need for long-term care can, for immediate family and friends, also bring with it health related and mental stresses, as well as social risks as a result of financing support services or loss of earnings.
Due to the system of long-term care insurance family and friends are of central importance. Over 70 % of those officially recognised as in need of long-term care are looked after at home by family and friends, outpatient nursing services or a combination of the two types of carers . So even today family and friends still assume the major share of all care services: It is the aim of this edition of GBE kompakt to more precisely examine this contribution on the part of informal caregivers toward the nursing care of people in need of long-term care and assistance in Germany.Regular alcohol consumption endangers health and is associated with an increased risk of a variety of physical illnesses and mental disorders. This issue's interest is focused on alcohol consumption during adolescence since young people may be viewed as the most important target group for alcohol prevention measures. Attitudes toward alcohol, drinking motives and consumption patterns that form during adolescence often still exist in adulthood. Studies suggest that starting to drink early and excessive consumption of alcohol at a young age increases the probability of problematic alcohol consumption later in life and increases the risk of alcohol dependency.

Date of issue December 1, 2015 PDF (214 KB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)