Hans Dubois

A saúde mental na Europa encontra-se numa encruzilhada crítica. Embora alguns indicadores tenham melhorado desde a pandemia, um novo relatório da Eurofound revela tendências preocupantes, incluindo uma interrupção alarmante do declínio de décadas nas taxas de suicídio. Neste episódio das Eurofound Talks, Mary McCaughey fala com o gestor sénior de investigação Hans Dubois sobre esta questão complexa, salientando que a saúde mental precária está a afetar desproporcionadamente os grupos vulneráveis.

Em suas diretrizes políticas para a próxima Comissão Europeia, emitidas em julho, a presidente que retorna, Ursula von der Leyen, delineou propostas ambiciosas para o próximo mandato europeu de cinco anos. Entre elas, a nomeação do primeiro membro da comissão cujas responsabilidades incluiriam a habitação, bem como a primeira iniciativa europeia de habitação a preços acessíveis Plan.In este episódio das Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey fala com o Diretor Sénior de Investigação da Eurofound, Hans Dubois, sobre os mais recentes desenvolvimentos em matéria de habitação e política de habitação na Europa. Este, o segundo episódio da série que analisa especificamente a habitação, discute o papel da nova Comissão, o que a investigação da Eurofound pode trazer para a mesa e os diferentes instrumentos políticos necessários.

In this episode Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Senior Research Manager Hans Dubois on the issues that feed into housing insecurity in Europe, and the actions that need to be taken to address them. Together, they analyse findings from Eurofound’s recent Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe report, which presents data from Eurofound’s Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey, European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and input from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents on various indicators of housing security and living conditions.

This episode of Eurofound Talks looks at care: care for children, care for older people, care for those who are frail or with disabilities, access to care, the quality of care, and the working conditions of care workers. Mary McCaughey speaks with Senior Research Manager Hans Dubois about how care policy has received more attention post-pandemic in the context of the European Commission’s new European Care Strategy on quality, affordable and accessible care services across the EU, as well as the European Parliament’s resolution Towards a common European action on care. They also discuss the impact of care on related areas such as gender equality, Europe's long-term economic development, and ensuring greater social cohesion.

The European Pillar of Social Rights states that ‘everyone has the right to affordable long-term care services of good quality, in particular home-care and community-based services’. Taking a step to make this principle a reality, the European Commission is currently preparing a European Care Strategy, expected in September 2022. Good access to care is crucial for the quality of life of people with care needs as well as the well-being of informal carers who care for family or friends. An ageing population translates into intensifying demand for long-term care (LTC). Meeting this demand calls for a future-oriented strategy, one that should identify current trends and seek to improve them. Here we present four policy options that such a strategy should include.

An ageing Europe and rising public expenditure on long-term care have signalled for some time that the fundamentals of care provision need to be addressed. However, the shocking death toll in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that many long-term care services were ill-equipped to protect their vulnerable users have lately focused the public mind on the issue. Most people in the EU will need such care for themselves or someone close to them at some stage in their lives. Demand is already escalating, as the rise in the long-term care workforce – by a third in just a decade – testifies. Calls for a European care strategy rightly insist that care users be listened to, but here we highlight others in the system whose needs deserve attention too.