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Activities of daily living

ADL — avec les IADL (activités instrumentales)

Advance care planning

Advance care planning is a voluntary, person-centred process of discussion between an individual and their care providers about preferences and priorities for future care, usually spanning several conversations over time rather than a single event. In England its possible outputs include an advance statement of wishes, which is not legally binding, an Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment, and a Lasting Power of Attorney for health and welfare, both legally binding when valid and applicable. It requires the person to have mental capacity at the time of the discussion.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission

ACQSC

Aide sociale à l'hébergement

ASH

Allocation personnalisée d'autonomie

APA

Assisted living

Assisted living is a US housing option for older adults who need help with tasks such as dressing, bathing, eating and toileting but not the intensive medical care given in a nursing home. Facilities may stand alone or be part of a retirement community, and state licensing rules vary, with the category known by up to 26 different names, including residential care and board and care. Annual costs range from under $25,000 to over $50,000; Medicare does not cover it, though Medicaid may pay for the service component in some states.

Attendance Allowance

Attendance Allowance is a UK benefit, not means-tested, for people who have reached State Pension age and have a physical or mental disability, or health condition, severe enough that they need help caring for themselves or supervision for their own or someone else's safety, having needed that help for at least six months. Faster rules apply near the end of life. It cannot be claimed alongside Disability Living Allowance, and someone in a care home usually cannot claim it if their care is paid for by their local authority.

Care home

Care home is the umbrella term used in England for residential settings providing accommodation and personal care, such as help with washing, dressing and taking medicines, for people who can no longer manage safely on their own. There are two main types: residential homes, and nursing homes, which additionally have one or more qualified nurses on duty. Homes may be run by private companies, charities or local councils; nursing homes generally cost more. The Care Quality Commission regulates all care homes in England and publishes ratings from Outstanding to Inadequate.

Care Inspectorate (Scotland)

The Care Inspectorate is Scotland's national assurance and improvement support body for social care services and social work. It maintains a public register of care services, publishes inspection reports, and grades services against its evaluation framework, while also handling complaints about registered care services and about its own conduct. Its stated vision is that everyone in Scotland experiences high-quality, compassionate care, support and learning that upholds their rights and choices.

Care Inspectorate Wales

CIW

Care needs assessment

A care needs assessment is a free evaluation, carried out by a local council in England, of how someone manages everyday tasks such as washing, dressing and cooking. Conducted by a social worker or occupational therapist, it is the required first step before a council can recommend services such as equipment, home adaptations, a paid carer or a move into a care home. It can take place face-to-face, by phone or online, or as a self-assessment. If help is recommended, a financial assessment follows.

Care plan

A care and support plan sets out the help a person will receive after a council carries out a needs assessment, whether for someone who needs care or for someone caring for another person. It is normally provided within a few weeks of the assessment and explains how identified needs will be met, which also helps family and friends understand how they can support the person. Plans are reviewed regularly, usually within the first few months and then annually, and a review can be requested at any time.

Care Quality Commission

CQC

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS

CNSA

Caisse nationale de solidarité pour l'autonomie

Continuing care retirement community

CCRC — aussi appelé life plan community

Dementia care

Dementia care describes the support, including in care homes, that a person with dementia needs as symptoms worsen over time. In England, the decision to move into a care home can be made by the person or, if they lack mental capacity, by an attorney under lasting power of attorney acting in their best interests, following a needs assessment and a means test. Both residential and nursing homes should have staff trained in dementia care. A dementia diagnosis alone does not guarantee eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare, though people with complex needs may qualify.

Deprivation of assets

Extra care housing

Extra care housing is one form of what is collectively described in England as housing with care, alongside assisted living, retirement villages and very sheltered living. It gives residents their own purpose-built, self-contained flat or bungalow, for sale, rent or shared ownership, with staff on site 24 hours and access to personal care, such as help with washing, dressing and eating, as needs change. Schemes typically hold between 15 and 60 homes. Because it involves personal care, a regulated activity, providers must register with the Care Quality Commission in England.

Home care

Home care, also called domiciliary care, is paid care provided in a person's own home rather than a care home, ranging from an hour a week to live-in, round-the-clock support, including specialist nursing care in some cases. In England it typically costs £15 to £30 an hour, and access usually starts with a council needs assessment, followed by a means test for any council contribution. Care can be arranged through a homecare agency or by employing a carer directly, and benefits such as Attendance Allowance can help with the cost.

Hospital discharge

Hospital discharge covers the process of leaving hospital and the care and support that follows, as organised by the NHS in England. It spans three related areas: planning to leave hospital, care to support recovery after a hospital stay, fall, injury or illness, and separate mental health aftercare for anyone who has been sectioned. Which pathway applies shapes what help is arranged next.

Imserso

Instituto de Mayores y Servicios Sociales

Independent living

Independent living describes a US senior housing model for active adults, typically over 60, who can care for themselves. Communities offer hotel-style amenities such as pools, fitness centres, dining rooms and organised activities, with housekeeping, laundry and transportation available. Unlike assisted living, there are no round-the-clock caregivers; a nurse is usually on site only a few days a week, and 24-hour security responds to emergencies. Typical monthly costs are around $3,000, covering an apartment, utilities and amenities.

Inspection report

An inspection report is CQC's published assessment of a health or social care service in England. Most reports carry an overall rating — Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, or Inadequate — plus ratings against five key questions and, for services such as hospitals, ratings for individual departments. Newer reports also give percentage scores, showing whether a service sits nearer the top or bottom of its rating band. Not every service receives an overall rating, and some are not rated at all.

Lasting power of attorney

LPA

Live-in care

Means test

A means test (financial assessment) decides whether a local council in England helps pay towards someone's social care, based on income, savings, pensions, certain benefits and property. Councils generally help when savings are below £23,250 — the more a person has, the more they must pay. It follows a needs or carer's assessment and is free. A home's value counts towards the assessment for a long-term care-home stay, unless a partner, dependent child or qualifying relative still lives there; it is excluded for care received at home.

Medicaid

Medicaid is a joint US federal-state program and the nation's primary payer for long-term care services, covering more than 30% of the $597.6 billion spent on long-term services and supports in 2020. It funds these services across a continuum of settings, from institutional care to home- and community-based services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services works with states to make the system person-driven, giving people with disabilities or chronic conditions choice and control over where and how they receive care.

Medicare

In the United States, Medicare does not pay for long-term care. Long-term care — also called custodial care — covers medical and non-medical help for people with a chronic illness or disability, including assistance with bathing, dressing and using the bathroom, home-delivered meals, adult day health care and transportation. It differs from skilled nursing facility care, which Medicare covers separately. Anyone needing long-term care must pay the full cost themselves, unless they qualify for Medicaid or hold private long-term care insurance.

NHS Continuing Healthcare

NHS CHC

Nursing home

A nursing home, also called a skilled nursing facility, is a US residential facility offering 24-hour nursing supervision alongside personal care, meals and rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy. Its focus on medical care distinguishes it from assisted living and smaller board-and-care homes. Most residents pay for nursing home care themselves; Medicare generally does not cover long-term stays, though it may pay for related costs like doctor visits, and Medicaid may cover some costs for people who qualify based on income and resources.

Palliative care

Palliative care, as defined by the World Health Organization, is an approach that improves quality of life for patients — adults and children — and their families facing a life-threatening illness. It prevents and relieves suffering through early identification, assessment and treatment of pain and other physical, psychological or spiritual problems. It affirms life, treats dying as a normal process, and neither hastens nor postpones death. It can begin early in an illness, alongside treatments such as chemotherapy, and offers support to both patients and families, including bereavement care.

Personal care

Personal care is a legally defined regulated activity in England, set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. It covers care provided to people who cannot manage for themselves because of old age, illness or disability, delivered where they live — for example through domiciliary or homecare services, supported living, or extra care housing. Providers offering only housing support, social support such as help with shopping, or medication prompting, without personal care tasks, are not required to register with the Care Quality Commission.

Respite care

Respite care lets a carer take a break while the person they look after is cared for by someone else, helping prevent exhaustion. In England, options range from a volunteer sitting with the person for a few hours to a short stay in a care home, a day care centre visit, or a paid carer coming to the home. For a local council to fund respite care, both the carer and the person cared for generally need to be assessed — a carer's assessment and a care needs assessment.

Retirement village

In New South Wales, Australia, a retirement village is a form of housing for older residents governed by specific tenancy and contract rules, with rights and obligations set for operators. Prospective residents are guided to compare providers using the average resident comparison figure (ARCF), a standard measure of the cost of living in different villages, and can check a public retirement villages register for information on a specific operator or use a government calculator to estimate total costs before signing a contract.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding covers protecting adults from abuse and neglect, which the NHS notes can occur anywhere and is usually carried out by someone the person knows and trusts, such as a carer, relative or professional. Recognised forms include physical, sexual, psychological, financial, discriminatory and domestic abuse, and neglect. Anyone concerned that they or someone else is being abused or neglected can speak to a GP, social worker or a local council's adult safeguarding team, or contact the police if a crime may have been committed; helplines such as Hourglass offer advice.

Self-funder

A self-funder in England is someone not entitled to council help with care costs because their savings exceed the upper capital limit (£23,250) or, for a care home move, because they own property. Self-funders can request a free needs assessment to establish what care is required, and may ask the council to arrange care and bill them, though not all councils offer this. Options to cover care-home costs without selling a home include equity release, renting out the property, or a council deferred payment scheme, repaid later from the estate.

Sheltered housing

Sheltered housing in England usually consists of self-contained flats or bungalows, bought or rented, with an emergency alarm system, a warden living on or near the premises, and communal facilities such as a lounge or laundry — sometimes called warden-assisted accommodation. It generally suits older people needing a low level of support, unlike extra care housing, which serves people with greater needs who do not require a full care home. It is provided by local authorities, housing associations and private companies, with owners paying service charges to a management organisation.

Skilled nursing facility

SNF

Top-up fees

Top-up fees (or 'top ups') are additional payments made by a person or a third party in England when someone in local-authority-funded care chooses accommodation more expensive than the authority would normally pay for, where this is judged affordable. They do not count towards the cap on lifetime care costs. Local authorities decide whether someone can afford a top-up and should not be left having to pay it themselves if there is a reasonable expectation it will become unaffordable over the person's expected care journey.