[Local backgrounds of demand and supply of nursing homes]

This report deals with the question, why municipalities differ so much in the number of elderly who are staying in a home for the aged. Official statistics, the national survey in 1982 and a local survey among the elderly in a municipality with a low capacity have been analysed. Some interesting results of the report are: if there isn't a home for the elderly in the domicile -- and the elderly have to move to another village for the care they need -- many prefer to stay on their own. In the past alternatives (such as special dwellings, more home help, etc.) have been created. In municipalities with many small villages also a relatively low capacity of homes for the elderly has been realised in the past. An other determinant of the capacity is the political and religious structure of a municipality.