title: Diversity in Older Adults' Care Networks: The Added Value of Individual Beliefs and Social Network Proximity.
abstract: Policy reforms in long-term care require an increased share of informal caregivers in elderly care. This may be more feasible for older adults who (believe they) can organize the care themselves and have a local social network. This study describes care network types, how they vary in the share of informal caregivers, and examines associations with characteristics of community-dwelling older adults, including individual beliefs and network proximity.
  
  
  
  Latent class analyses were applied to a subsample of older care receivers (N = 491) from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, in order to identify homogeneous subgroups of people with similar care networks. Multinomial regression analysis explored associations between network type and care receiver characteristics.
  
  
  
  Privately paid, coresidential, large informal, and publicly paid care network types were distinguished. Variation in informal care appeared mostly related to health, partner status, income, and proximity of children. Proximity of other potential informal caregivers did not affect the network type. Perceived control of care was highest in the privately paid network.
  
  
  
  The results suggest that local (non-)kin could be mobilized more often in coresidential networks. Increasing informal or alternative care in publicly paid networks is less likely, due to limited social and financial resources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marianne T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marjolein I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Broese van Groenou
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marja J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Aartsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dorly J H
authors.initials: DJH
authors.lastname: Deeg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D000077272:Latent Class Analysis; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060756:Social Networking
keywords: Care network; Formal caregivers; Individual beliefs; Informal caregivers; Long-term care; Social network proximity