Lina Van Aerschot, Centre of Excellence in Research on Ageing and Care, University of Jyväskylä

Nicola Brimblecombe, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science

Teppo Kröger, Centre of Excellence in Research on Ageing and Care, University of Jyväskylä,

Care for disabled and older people to enable them to live an independent life is seen as
a key social and human right. Care needs can be met with the help of family or unpaid carers, long-term care services and personal assistance, or not met at all. National care policies, social policy systems, and individual socio-economic resources determine what the rights to care are and whether care services are publicly provided and/or privately purchased – these also frame informal care. Informal care may be a preference, a must, or not an option at all. The ways in which care and services are organised and allocated may enhance and build equality related to care and assistance, or create further inequalities.

Unmet care needs may be related to government policy, unavailability of services or informal care, lack of awareness or accessibility of services, high user fees, or other barriers. Individual care needs change over the lifecourse and unmet need and inequalities in care provision can have enduring consequences for unpaid carers and disabled and older people.

This thematic panel calls for papers dealing with inequalities in care. We especially welcome papers that connect care inequalities to wider questions within social and public policy, including human and social rights. Topics may be related to social inequalities among older or disabled people or between different age groups, or to unmet needs, care poverty, vulnerable positions, social divisions, inadequate care, and different mechanisms that lead to a disadvantaged position and/or difficulties in having care needs met. We also welcome papers that consider these issues over the lifecourse. The institutional settings and transitions of care systems and care policies are also relevant to this thematic panel as well as the practices of care arrangements.