Integrative Elderly Care Model as a Part of a Changing Long-Term Care and Welfare State in Slovakia

Abstract

The aim of this article is to describe and discuss the key challenges of social and healthcare services in Slovakia, focusing on the Integrative Elderly Care Model as part of a changing welfare state. It also examines the opportunities and challenges related to the transformation of community-based social and healthcare services. The Slovak welfare state has undergone several revisions during the last decade; so too has the elderly care sector, which is a combination of public and non-government organisations. Elderly citizens, however, remain in a precarious situation. The trend toward marketisation and re-familiarisation of elderly care “go towards the EU average”, indicating an increase in public social expenditure directed towards aging.