Call for Papers 

Newly-defined care policy designs, reorganisation of care policy approaches as well as measures to support informal family care have changed considerably patterns of elder care provision and the situation of carers. The restructurings have emerged against the background of extension and restriction of public support framed by fundamental criticism of the welfare state and persistent economic constraints. They are developing embedded in an increasing process of migration, challenging prevalent elder care policy approaches.

More specifically, the restructurings of elder care approaches occur in relation to a number of dimensions. There is a restructuring of formal care provision based on contradictory processes of professionalization and de-professionalization of care activities related to new patterns of cooperation and hierarchy between different groups among carers. Due to processes of informalisation and formalisation of care activities, the borders between formal and informal care have been blurred as well as new types of hierarchies have been created. Quality of care are expected to be affected, as a consequence of the re-structuring of care policies, but also with regards to the changes towards informalisation and in the composition of the care force, where many countries attempt to attract migrant labour. New concepts of work organisations introduced are indifferently interrelated to the process of changes – initiating, supporting or impeding processes – and thus shaping processes and results. How such developments and processes of restructurings are playing out in practice remains unclear, thus necessitation further theoretical and empirical investigation.

The conference explores the dynamics and contexts of these restructuring processes and emerging challenges through a number of key themes:

• Quality of care

• Formalisation and informalisation of care (formal, semi-formal and informal care) and the situation of informal carers

• Care staff: Shortage, transnational recruitment, professionalization, hierarchisation between carers

• Changing work organisations: concepts and implementation

• Intersection of different types of inequalities – gender, socio-economic class, ethnicity

Organisers

The conference is jointly organised by SFI – The Danish National Centre for Social Research in Copenhagen (Senior researcher Tine Rostgaard), the Research Centre for ‘Ageing and Society’ at the University of Vechta (Prof. Hildegaard Theobald) and University of Hamburg (Prof. Birgit Phau-Effinger).

Funding

The following organisations and research networks financially support the conference: Reassessing the Nordic Welfare Model (REASSESS under Nordic Council, www.reassess.no), SFI – The Danish National Centre for Social Research, University of Hamburg and the University of Vechta.

 
Keynote speakers
(To follow).

Submission of abstract
We invite papers that address dynamics and contexts of transformations related to changes in elderly care either in a single country or in a comparative perspective. All disciplines are welcome. We especially encourage submissions from PhD students. The deadline for submitting an abstract of no more than 250 words is 28 February 2010.

To submit your abstract, see Submission of abstract 
 
People will be notified whether their abstracts have been accepted by 1 April 2010

For papers to be included in the session programme, please submit full papers no later than 1 June 2010 to transformingcare@sfi.dk

For more information, contact transformingcare@sfi.dk 
 
The final programme will be published on www.sfi.dk/transformingcare 5 June 2010