The Longitudinal Association between Co-Residential Care Provision and Healthcare Use among the Portuguese Population Aged 50 and Over: A SHARE Study

Fátima Barbosa (), Sara Simões Dias, Gina Voss and Alice Delerue Matos
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Fátima Barbosa: Communication and Society Research Centre, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Sara Simões Dias: Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology (CiTechCare), School of Health Sciences, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2410-541 Leiria, Portugal
Gina Voss: Communication and Society Research Centre, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Alice Delerue Matos: Communication and Society Research Centre, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Co-residential care is associated with poor caregiver health and a high burden. Although Portugal relies heavily on co-residential care by individuals aged 50 and over, studies on the impact of co-residential care provision on Portuguese caregivers’ healthcare use are lacking. This study aims to analyze the impact of co-residential care (spousal and non-spousal care) on healthcare use of the Portuguese population aged 50 plus. Data from waves 4 ( n = 1697) and 6 ( n = 1460) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used. Negative Binomial Generalized Linear Mixed Models with random (individual level) and fixed (covariates) effects were performed. The results show that the number of visits to the doctor decrease significantly over time for the co-residential spousal caregivers as compared to the non-co-residential caregivers. This result highlights the fact that the Portuguese co-residential spousal caregiver group is at a higher risk of not using healthcare, thus jeopardizing their own health and continuity of care. Promoting more accessible healthcare services and implementing public policies adjusted to the needs of informal caregivers are important to improve the health and healthcare use of Portuguese spousal co-residential caregivers.

Keywords: co-residential care; number of visits to the doctor; Portugal; SHARE; longitudinal analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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