Potential for informal care of the elderly in Germany. Results of a representative population-based survey

Background. It is well known that individuals in need for care prefer to live at home as long as they can. Due to demographic changes it is predicted that the need for long-term care will considerably increase in the next decades; therefore, it is important to know the potential of informal caregivers. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for receiving informal care perceived by older individuals and predictive factors associated with it. Methods. Data were drawn from a population-based telephone survey of the older German population (n = 1006, average age 75.2 +/- 6.6 years, range 65-96 years) in 2015. Results. In case of the need for care 71.7% of the individuals had someone who could provide informal care. The potential of informal care was bivariately associated with marital status, having children and self-rated health status. Multiple logistic regression revealed that the potential of informal care was positively associated with having children (odds ratio [OR] 2.5, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]1.7-3.7), private health insurance (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.0-2.7), providing informal care for family or friends (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.1) and current need of care (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.8). Conclusion. Besides familial resources, the status of health insurance and the current need of care were important determinants of the potential for informal care. As familial resources are of utmost importance for informal care and it is expected that the geographical distance between family members will increase in the next decades, it is important to develop programs to meet the increasing demand for informal care.