Incremental patterns in the amount of informal and formal care among non-demented and demented elderly persons: results from a 3-year follow-up population-based study.
Elderly care includes complex interactions between formal services, informal care, morbidity and disabilities. Studies of the incremental effects of formal and informal care are rare and thus the objective was to describe the longitudinal patterns in formal and informal care given to non-demented and demented persons living in a rural area in Sweden.
Transitions in the Kungsholmen-Nordanstig Project (n=919) was followed up 3 years later (n=579), presented as different combinations of informal and formal care, institutionalization and mortality. Number of hours spent on care was examined by the Resource Utilization in Dementia instrument (RUD). Bootstrapped descriptive statistics and regression models were applied.
The overall mortality during follow-up was 34%, and 15% had been institutionalized. Of those who lived at home, those receiving only formal care had been institutionalized to the greatest extent (29%; p