Changes in home care use by disabled elderly persons: 1982-1994

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Services Research
• Public Health

Background:

• Chronic disability affects a significant portion of the elderly population living in the community.
• Understanding caregiving dynamics is crucial for effective elder support systems.
• Trends in formal (paid) and informal (unpaid) care utilization by disabled seniors require ongoing investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the utilization of formal and informal care services among chronically disabled community-dwelling elderly individuals.
• To identify changes in the patterns of formal and informal care use over time.
• To analyze the relationship between disability intensity, age, and care source selection.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the National Long Term Care Surveys (1982, 1989, 1994).
• Estimation of sources and volume of home care utilization.
• Comparative analysis across different levels of disability, survey years, and age groups.

Main Results:

• Overall use of home health care, combining paid and informal services, demonstrated an upward trend.
• Exclusive reliance on either paid or informal care decreased over the study period.
• Expenditure on formal care services correlated positively with increased disability severity and older age.

Conclusions:

• Increased utilization of formal care services by community-based disabled elderly individuals was observed.
• Changes in Medicare home health care benefits, particularly after 1989, likely contributed to increased formal care use.
• The concurrent use of informal care was associated with higher overall home health care utilization.