Long-Term Care Services and Inter-American Human Rights in Argentina

Abstract

Abstract Currently, long-term care services are considered socially accepted alternatives that meet the need for assistance and accommodation of older persons, especially in situations of dependency. Their design and expansion are conditioned by a new phenomenon: global aging and the multi-generational society. This article looks at the current situation of long-term care services in Argentina. It identifies the new standards of Elder Law set by the Inter American Convention on the Protecting of Human Rights of Older Persons and contrasts them with the Argentinian legal system on long-term care. It then analyses the clash between the way these services are currently provided and the new human rights approach, and considers the pioneering Argentinian judicial criteria concerning long-term care facilities. Finally, it points out the main aspects that need to be considered in order to implement the necessary social change and legal reform in Argentina.