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This paper reports on an innovative survey of long-term care facilities for older people in the Argentine city of La Plata. It applies a range of qualitative methodologies, including a clandestine audit conducted by older people living in the community. The paper pays particular attention to the types and availability of services, perceived quality and the rigour of regulatory processes. It finds that there has been a rapid growth in the availability of formal services, but that there are many gaps in provision, especially for older people with complex care needs. There are strong indications that service quality is uneven and, in some cases, this amounts to the contravention of basic human rights. State regulation is hampered by institutional fragmentation and weak governance. A wider set of expert interviews and the limited available published information indicate that these findings are unlikely to be exceptional, and that similar issues affect rapidly emerging long-term care systems in many low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives There is very little information about the appropriateness of procedures for admitting older people into care homes in low and middle-income countries like Argentina. This study provides the first systematic study of practice and assesses the extent to which current practice respects fundamental human rights. Research Design and Methods We apply different methods, including document review and national survey analysis. The study also includes a case study of a single city, La Plata, which draws on local key informant interviews, focus group discussions in different neighborhoods, and a clandestine surrogate patient survey led by local pensioners. This innovative design provides a highly triangulated and contextualized data set. Results Many older people admitted to care homes did not have high levels of care dependency. Care homes did not usually require or even seek the informed consent of older people, regardless of their cognitive status. There were indications of coercive admission by family members, sometimes in order to obtain access to older people's homes and other property and finances. Discussion and Implications The study indicates the widespread abuse of the fundamental human rights of tens of thousands of older people in Argentina. There is a need for researchers, policy-makers, and civil society to acknowledge the scale of abuse and develop safeguards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: There is very little information about the appropriateness of procedures for admitting older people into care homes in low and middle-income countries like Argentina. This study provides the first systematic study of practice and assesses the extent to which current practice respects fundamental human rights., Research Design and Methods: We apply different methods, including document review and national survey analysis. The study also includes a case study of a single city, La Plata, which draws on local key informant interviews, focus group discussions in different neighborhoods, and a clandestine surrogate patient survey led by local pensioners. This innovative design provides a highly triangulated and contextualized data set., Results: Many older people admitted to care homes did not have high levels of care dependency. Care homes did not usually require or even seek the informed consent of older people, regardless of their cognitive status. There were indications of coercive admission by family members, sometimes in order to obtain access to older people's homes and other property and finances., Discussion and Implications: The study indicates the widespread abuse of the fundamental human rights of tens of thousands of older people in Argentina. There is a need for researchers, policy-makers, and civil society to acknowledge the scale of abuse and develop safeguards., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)