Cluster 2 – HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-TRANSFO-09: "CAREPATHS"

CAREPATHS is a Horizon Europe RIA concept responding to the growing pressure on European long-term care systems caused by demographic ageing, rising dependency, workforce shortages, underfunding, and declining informal care capacity.

The project aims to identify which combinations of financing, workforce reform, service integration, community-based care, informal carer support, and digital coordination can make long-term care systems more resilient, affordable and equitable by 2070.

It will do this through four main strands:

1. Comparative policy assessment
CAREPATHS will benchmark long-term care systems across 15 EU Member States, looking at affordability, accessibility, quality, workforce capacity, governance, territorial disparities and service integration.

2. Reform impact analysis
The project will assess selected national and regional LTC reforms to understand what has worked, under which conditions, and with what effects on unmet need, quality, affordability, workforce pressure and care transitions.

3. Forward-looking projections to 2070
CAREPATHS will model future LTC needs, service demand, workforce requirements, funding pressures and the cost of non-action, comparing no-reform and reform scenarios.

4. Policy package co-design
The project will work with policymakers, providers, civil society, carers and care recipients to develop realistic policy packages for different LTC system types, with emphasis on community-based care, integrated services, workforce attractiveness, informal carers and digital support.