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Formal and Informal Care

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging

Synonyms

Care of older adults; Family care

Definition

Formal care for older people usually refers to paid care services provided by a healthcare institution or individual for a person in need. Informal care refers to unpaid care provided by family, close relatives, friends, and neighbors. Both forms of caregiving involve a spectrum of tasks, but informal caregivers seldom receive enough training for these tasks. Formal caregivers are trained in the field, but the depth of their training varies.

Overview

Formal Care

Formal care can be organized into three different categories: (1) home-based care; (2) community-based care (such as daycare centers with trained staff); and (3) residential care in the form of nursing homes. Residential care is the most traditional and predominant type of formal care. While informal home-based caregivers still take the predominant role, some older adults also receive formal home care, which includes assistance in personal care (such as dressing and...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Jia Li

  2. Department of Social Work, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China

    Yajun Song

Authors
  1. Jia Li
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  2. Yajun Song
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yajun Song .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Population Division, UN Dept of Economic Social Affairs Population Division, New York, NY, USA

    Danan Gu

  2. School of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, USA

    Matthew E. Dupre

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Xue Bai

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Li, J., Song, Y. (2019). Formal and Informal Care. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_847-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_847-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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