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ABSTRACT: Objectives
We examine whether socioeconomic inequalities in home-care use among disabled older adults are related to the contextual characteristics of long-term care (LTC) systems. Specifically, we investigate how wealth and income gradients in the use of informal, formal, and mixed home-care vary according to the degree to which LTC systems offer alternatives to families as the main providers of care ("de-familization").Method
We use survey data from SHARE on disabled older adults from 136 administrative regions in 12 European countries and link them to a regional indicator of de-familization in LTC, measured by the number of available LTC beds in care homes. We use multinomial multilevel models, with and without country fixed-effects, to study home-care use as a function of individual-level and regional-level LTC characteristics. We interact financial wealth and income with the number of LTC beds to assess whether socioeconomic gradients in home-care use differ across regions according to the degree of de-familization in LTC.Results
We find robust evidence that socioeconomic status inequalities in the use of mixed-care are lower in more de-familized LTC systems. Poorer people are more likely than the wealthier to combine informal and formal home-care use in regions with more LTC beds. SES inequalities in the exclusive use of informal or formal care do not differ by the level of de-familization.Discussion
The results suggest that de-familization in LTC favors the combination of formal and informal home-care among the more socioeconomically disadvantaged, potentially mitigating health inequalities in later life.
SUBMITTER: Floridi G
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7756692 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Floridi Ginevra G Carrino Ludovico L Glaser Karen K
The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 20210101 1
<h4>Objectives</h4>We examine whether socioeconomic inequalities in home-care use among disabled older adults are related to the contextual characteristics of long-term care (LTC) systems. Specifically, we investigate how wealth and income gradients in the use of informal, formal, and mixed home-care vary according to the degree to which LTC systems offer alternatives to families as the main providers of care ("de-familization").<h4>Method</h4>We use survey data from SHARE on disabled older adul ...[more]