Why and how to set up day centres: Contributing to the well-being of older people and carers

The rapid ageing of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean is leading to an increase in the number of older people in need of care. One of the challenges facing the region is to develop care services at scale that respect the preference of most people to age in their own homes and that alleviate the burden of care on families.

In this study, we analyse day centres in Latin America and internationally, specifically in Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, the United States and France. Furthermore, we have compiled the multiple benefits of day centres for their users, family carers and the social and healthcare system, as well as their costs in the region. The cost of day centres is $234 per month, which is lower than other care services. An added value of this study is that, based on lessons learned from best practices, we have developed an operational guide on how to design and implement high-quality day centres following the Person-Centred Care approach. We also provide detailed recommendations on physical resources (space, equipment and transport), human resources and how to organise the day-to-day running of the centre, including the development of personalised schedules for each user.