Study Results from Institute of Sociology Provide New Insights into Equity in Health (Typologies of dependency, household characteristics, and disparity in formal and informal care use: analysis of community-dwelling long-term care insurance …): Health and Medicine – Equity in Health

2023 NOV 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Hospital & Nursing Home Daily -- Fresh data on equity in health are presented in a new report. According to news reporting from the Institute of Sociology by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “A comprehensive understanding of subgroups of community-dwelling older adults and their long-term care (LTC) utilization can help to promote equality in the long-term services and support system. Dependency and household characteristics were found to affect the LTC utilization of homebound older adults.”

Funders for this research include Shanghai Office of Philosophy And Social Science.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Institute of Sociology: “However, few studies considered the typologies of dependency of older populations according to co-occurring limitations, and little is known about differences in LTC use among elderly of typologies of dependency under distinct household conditions. We aimed to identify typologies of dependency of older adults living at home and explore the disparities in formal care and informal care use among typologies of dependency by income and living situation. In this cross-sectional study, we used the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) database of Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, China, and included 1675 individuals aged 60 years living at home. Cluster analysis was conducted to determine typologies of dependency among older adults. A two-step multilevel analysis was used to examine disparities in formal and informal care use related to household income and living status among typologies of dependency. Seven dependency clusters were identified. Pro-wealthy inequalities in both formal and informal care use were found in the least dependent cluster and the limited-locomotion cluster. Pro-poor inequalities in formal care use were found in the fully dependent cluster without impaired vision and the cluster with intact continence and vision. Living with family members was positively associated with receiving formal care for the fully dependent cluster. Older adults in most clusters were more likely to use informal care when living with family members, except for the least dependent cluster and the limited-locomotion cluster.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Our findings suggest that household inequalities in LTC use varied among typologies of dependency of older adults, which may provide insights for researchers and policymakers to develop tailored LTC and targeted LTCI programs for older adults living at home and their family caregivers, considering both typologies of dependency and household characteristics.”

For more information on this research see: Typologies of dependency, household characteristics, and disparity in formal and informal care use: analysis of community-dwelling long-term care insurance claimants in an urban municipality of China. International Journal for Equity in Health, 2023,22(1):1-10. (International Journal for Equity in Health - http://www.equityhealthj.com/). The publisher for International Journal for Equity in Health is BMC.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-02048-5.

Our news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Shuai Fang, Institute of Sociology, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Additional authors for this research include Hong Liang, Yan Liang.

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