Utilization of Long-Term Care Services and the Role of Institutional Trust in South Korea

With population aging, governments have become increasingly involved in the administration, funding, and regulation of formal long-term care (LTC) systems. We examine the association between institutional trust and formal LTC service utilization among older adults aged ≥60 years with care needs in South Korea's public LTC scheme. Using data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging and hierarchical logistic regressions, we evaluate the respective roles of trust in government and trust in the LTC program on service utilization. Results show that trust in the LTC scheme is significantly associated with service utilization: a unit increase in the level of trust is associated with a 29% increase in the odds of service use on average, controlling for need-related factors (e.g., chronic conditions) and other covariates. Furthermore, the positive relationship between trust and LTC utilization increases in magnitude with age. Older adults who are aged 80 and above, unmarried, with more ADL limitations, with psychiatric disease, or with arthritis are more likely to utilize formal LTC services. Our findings are robust to variations in sample inclusion criteria. Policymakers and health administrators should pay attention to building and maintaining institutional trust in public LTC schemes through good governance and other relevant strategies.