Albert Julià, researcher at the UB School of Sociology, has been awarded an extraordinary grant for research and innovation from the Barcelona City Council and “la Caixa” Foundation. The project titled “The situation of elderly people with functional dependence and caregivers in Barcelona (DEPCURA-BCN)” is part of the Barcelona Science Plan 2020-2023.
The study, led by the University of Barcelona, will last for 18 months and has been granted 133,394.24 €. Julià leads the project working together with our researchers Pedro Gallo and Marga Marí-Klose. Two other institutions will also be collaborating: Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Fundació Salut i Envelliment de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
DEPCURA-BCN proposes to carry out, for the first time, research with a representative sample of the elderly population in a situation of functional dependence (hereinafter SFD) with the aim of analyzing their characteristics, and care strategies according to different profiles, as well as detecting possible unmet needs.
Through surveys and interviews, the study aims to analyze in depth the characteristics, risks, and needs of the elderly in SFD; the profiles of caregivers and their management, strategies, barriers, and opportunities they find in the city of Barcelona; the inequalities between the different profiles of households with elderly people in SFD, also accounting territorial inequalities; to study the actions and/or policies that can be applied in the environment of the city of Barcelona and that can be applied to other contexts; and the elaboration of recommendations to improve the care of elderly people in SFD, as well as the different profiles of caregivers.
