Educational differences in long-term care use in Sweden during the last two years of life

Background: In old age, many people experience a period of functional decline and require long-term care. Sweden has a universal largely tax-financed health and social care system that is used by all societal groups. However, few studies have investigated if educational groups use publicly paid long...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of public health 2023-06, Vol.51 (4), p.579-586
Main Authors: Kelfve, Susanne, Wastesson, Jonas W., Meinow, Bettina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Elder care
end of life
home-help services
level of education
Medicin och hälsovetenskap
Original
register data
residential care
sex
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Summary:Background: In old age, many people experience a period of functional decline and require long-term care. Sweden has a universal largely tax-financed health and social care system that is used by all societal groups. However, few studies have investigated if educational groups use publicly paid long-term care equitably. The aim of this study was to explore educational differences in the use of long-term care, including both home care and institutional care, during the last two years of life in Sweden. Methods: We used linked register data on mortality and long-term care use, including all adults aged ⩾67 years who died in Sweden in November 2015 (N=6329). We used zero-inflated negative binomial regression models to analyse the number of months with long-term care by educational level, both crude and adjusted for age at death and cohabitation status. Men and women were analysed separately. Results: People with tertiary education died more commonly without using any long-term care compared to primary educated people (28.0% vs. 18.6%; p
ISSN:1403-4948
1651-1905
1651-1905
DOI:10.1177/14034948211043658