The Effect of Functional Disability on Service Utilization: Implications for Long-Term Care

Abstract

The ability of elderly individuals to care for themselves and their actual patterns of long-term care services utilization were assessed. Such information is necessary to establish eligibility for access to the long-term care services network. A purposive sample of eight community-based, in-home/home health, and institutional care providers was selected. We gathered data for 547 of the 1,439 elderly consumers and obtained subjective and evaluative measures of level of functioning, including assessments of activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and demographic characteristics. Four methods of determining eligibility were compared and contrasted. Methodological issues and policy and practice implications are discussed.

Formal and informal care in relation to activities of daily living and self‐perceived health among older care‐dependent individuals in Norway

“…ADL was the only predictor explaining level of home nursing received. This result is supported by other studies (Slivinske et al. , 1998; Larsson & Thorslund, 2002; Madigan et al.…”

“…A number of studies verify a relationship between the functional ability of older persons and the reception of formal and informal care, as well as frailty and diminished functional ability as the main reasons for the demand for and delivery of care (Johansson & Åhlfeldt, 1993; Slivinske et al. , 1998; Romøren, 2001; Larsson & Thorslund, 2002; Madigan et al.…”

Concurrent and Long-Term Predictors of Older Adults’ Use of Community-Based Long-Term Care Services

“…They do, however, underscore the need for further, carefully planned research on the links between memory and behavior problems and formal service use. Such research is essential before standard regulations are formulated regarding the inclusion of cognitive functioning as an eligibility criterion for reimbursable formal services as suggested by some researchers (Slivinske, Fitch, & Wingerson, 1998).…”

Effect of a Voucher Benefit on the Demand for Paid Personal Assistance

“…Table 1 describes the independent variables used in this study. We chose independent variables on the basis of factors that have been shown in prior studies to affect personal assistance use (Allen & Mor, 1997;Evashwick, Rowe, Diehr, & Branch, 1984 2004; Rabiner, Mutran, & Stearns, 1995;Slivinske, Fitch, & Wingerson, 1998;Stum, Bauer, & Delaney, 1996). We included three groups of individual characteristics as covariates.…”