Community differences in care service resources and service use among the disabled elderly

Empirical analyses of receipt data of long-term care insurance

Abstract

  This study examines the differences in supply of long term care insurance services in cities, towns, and villages in one prefecture. The effects of community factors (e.g., service supply level) and the individual factors on individual service use were examined, using HGLM (Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model) analysis. The data used was a combination of receipt data of long term care insurance for disabled elderly and community data, including the number of service providers in each community. Results show that there are differences in service supply levels among cities, towns, and villages, which are especially evident in relatively popular services. For some services (e.g., institutional, home-support, day care, home-visit nursing care services), the effects of service supply levels on the service use of disabled elderly remain significant even after controlling for individual factors, such as age and level of disability.