Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nexus of informal care work, environmental factors, diversity, and our current health and social policy, especially long-term services and supports (LTSS) policies. The authors aim to also provide a framework to analyze public policy on such topics, establish the basis for future empirical work on these issues, and provide evidence-based suggestions to inform policy processes. The main goal is to create and strengthen much needed regulations in wellbeing of older adults and their informal caregivers.

The paper utilizes an in-depth secondary analysis of existing relevant scholarly articles and professional reports regarding care workers’ specific individual conditions and characteristics that can potentially isolate them from social activities. The paper identifies and sorts three potential risks that isolate caregiver’s social activities: physical strain, emotional stress, and financial pressures. Moreover, the paper investigates and discusses how these three potential risks relate to care workers’ work environment, availability of financial resources, and their mental health, which further isolates care workers from social involvement. The authors discuss as well often underexplored characteristics that could potentially have an impact on how we design and implement social policy: undocumented migratory status, limited English-speaking abilities, and low educational attainment. Such factors help to provide a more thorough analysis of care workers and their environments, which have been usually understudied by scholars.