Care System

The care system perspective
In the care system perspective there is a systematic, longitudinal, individually based collection of data concerning the operations of the long-term care system - volume and character of services provided in relation to needs and dependency, costs, staff input etc.

Registration in the care system part
The registration in the care system part of the SNAC-study involves all changes in the provision of long-term care for all persons 65 years and above living in the area as well as records of all contacts with the health care system.

This means that a record is made, when a person is granted home help services, home health care, home rehabilitation or special housing i.e. nursing home, residential home, group dwelling or sheltered housing. By linking to the ordinary county council care registers data are provided for the same persons concerning admission to and discharge from acute or geriatric hospital care and visits in out-patient care.

A notification is also made in the event of death. In case the long-term care services given to a person are not changed a record is made at least once a year. The recording started in February 2001 with a baseline survey of all recipients of public long-term care in the areas using the same protocol as in the continuous recording.

Each record consists of data on care unit, age and gender, housing (quality, accessibility), informal help (instrumental, personal), principal informal helper and social support. An assessment is made concering dependency (IADL, ADL) and different aspects of physical an/or cognitive disability and special needs. Furthermore the amount of granted public services according to the Social Services Act and/or the Health Care Act is recorded.