Asian Nurs Res.  2012 Mar;6(1):19-26.

Informal Caregiving Patterns in Korea and European Countries: A Cross-National Comparison

• Jang SN
• Avendano M
• Kawachi I

Abstract

PURPOSE
This ecological study examined demographic and institutional differences in informal caregiving. We conducted a cross-national study about the characteristics of informal caregivers in 12 European countries and Korea.
METHODS
Data were collected from individuals aged 50 years and older participating in the 2004/2005 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the 2006 Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We examined the associations between informal caregiving and macrolevel characteristics (gross domestic product, total fertility rates, labor force participation rates, level of women's empowerment, long-term care resources).
RESULTS
Korea and some southern European countries, notably Spain and Italy, had high percentages of women, homemakers, coresidents, and spouses in informal caregiving roles. In contrast, Northern European countries such as Denmark and Sweden had high proportions of employed informal caregivers. Lower female labor force participation was associated with higher proportions of women caregivers. A higher proportion of women caregivers in the population were also associated with a lower national gross domestic product per capita.
CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest that several contextual and institutional variables are associated with the proportion of women participating in caregiving.

Keyword

cross-cultural comparison; Europe; family caregivers; Korea

MeSH Terms

Aged
Birth Rate
Caregivers
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Denmark
Employment
Europe
Female
Gross Domestic Product
Humans
Italy
Korea
Long-Term Care
Longitudinal Studies
Power (Psychology)
Retirement
Spain
Spouses
Sweden