Meeting needs and social services among the Spanish elderly, does region matter?. Spatial patterns in the responsiveness to changing demographics and needs

The aim is to "explain" the formal social service coverage in Spain. The following research questions are raised: how services meet the needs of older people -are there many who need help but do not get it?- and does that vary from one region to another?
Spain is the only Southern European country with extensive services for older persons, greatly expanded in recent decades but suffering from vast regional variations. We use Spain as an example to describe and analyse regional variation in services and care for elderly people. A strong regional autonomy can lead to large variations in the distribution of social services, which has turned out to be the case
within care of the elderly in Spain. This study analyses these variations and to what extent they respond to or reflect differences in social or physical needs. Cross-national individual data, regionally representative, and geographical information on macro factors such as public spending on services are analysed to map out the variations in old-age care, to study compensating factors in the care system, and to explore the connection with regional demographic and socioeconomic conditions. The main preliminary result is that social factors (living alone) rather than physical needs determine service use, and especially so when coverage rates are low.