The care of the informal caregiver's burden by the Spanish public system of social welfare: a review

Abstract

This work analyzes the public social services system developed in Spain to attend dependent persons and their informal caregivers, examining in a more detailed way the current capacity of the Spanish public In-Home Help Service (HHS) to meet the demands of dependent elderly persons and its impact on their informal caregiver's burden. We begin with a brief introduction of the services by the Spanish public social services system developed to attend dependency; next, the evolution of the Spanish public HHS is described in a thorough way to identify the pros and cons of this service regarding the informal caregivers' burden of dependent elders. Finally, recommendations are proposed to redesign and restructure this public in-home service to lessen the informal caregiver's burden.