The impact of COVID-19 on the elderly dependent population in spain with special reference to the residential care sector

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the residential care crisis in Spain in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on high mortality and abandonment of the user popula-tion. The direct, indirect and structural causes are analyzed. Specifically, precarious employment in residences over the past decade was analyzed as one of the main explanatory causes of the structural crisis of nursing homes. The theoretical focus of analysis is the comprehensive and person-cen-tered care (CPCC) model based on the autonomy of people and the centrality of their rights. The methodology combines a quantitative analysis of employment and a qualitative analysis of documents and debates. The study concludes by pro-posing a comprehensive reform of long-term care that includes both a change in residential care in the form of small cohabitation units and reinfor-cement of care in the home and the community as a growing preference for the elderly population. An optimal combination of residential and home care is the basic proposal of this work.