title: Long-term care in international perspective.
abstract: The findings of a study of long-term care policies in 18 countries are reported in this article. Initial data were collected by a questionnaire survey under the auspices of the International Social Security Association. These data were supplemented by published documents and government statistics obtained while researching long-term care for the International Social Security Association and, subsequently, for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The principal focus is a cross-national comparison of institutionalization rates for the elderly. Differences in use rates for medically oriented facilities are less than those for nonmedical residential long-term care facilities. Only a small amount of variation is related to demographic differences, such as older or more female elderly populations in those countries with higher institutionalization rates. Included also is a description of the modes of financing long-term care.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001118:Argentina; D001315:Australia; D002170:Canada; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005060:Europe; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007557:Israel; D007564:Japan; D008134:Long-Term Care; D009520:New Zealand; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey; D014481:United States