Risk and uncertainty in Portuguese long-term care: An exploratory study

The breakdown of funding in the health sector becomes a central issue, focusing on reducing costs and maintaining quality of services to address the needs of Portuguese population. With the economic crisis and demographic phenomenon, the national network of Long-term Care crosses a time of uncertainty, where the options of the supply, according with existing funding, can determine the level of the network coverage.

This exploratory study sets evaluation of the continuing care, in light of risks and uncertainties of the national policy of Long-term Care, due to the unpredictability of the current context in Portuguese society. There were conducted eleven in-depth interviews, with a set of interlocutors in health, with national and international experience in the field. 

The data analysis shows the risk and uncertainty in the National Network of Long-term Care policy, where the ageing population causes a rise in the level of dependency and family burden, what reveals the importance to invest in differentiate care and disease management. The sustainability of Long-term Care may be subject to the diversity of funding and the appropriate combination of services by formal and informal caregivers. The unpredictability of demand and supply reveals the importance of studies and projections, supported by external evaluations to redirect existing responses or answers to create more adjusted.

The Long-term Care emerges as an attenuation instrument that responds to the demographic phenomenon, confirming the importance of investment in the differentiation care and chronic disease management. The sustainability of long-term care has been a prime topic on the political agenda and may be subject to the diversity of funding and the appropriate combination of services by all caregivers. The dominant discourse on Long-term Care expresses the challenge and costs of change, in a time when this level of care assumes a prominent place in health sector.