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Nursing home entry in Germany and the United States

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Abstract

This paper investigates the transition into a nursinghome in old age, using recent panel survey data fromGermany and the United States. Among the questionsaddressed are: what is the incidence of nursing homeentry, and how does it vary by age and sex; and towhat extent are differentials in nursing home entryattributable to variations in family composition?Although the percentage of older persons living innursing homes is similar in these two countries, theage-specific rates of movement into them appear to bemuch lower in Germany than in the USA, possibly dueto the effects of public policies. The correlates ofnursing home entry appear to be similar acrosscountries as well, although data limitations limit ourability to make definitive comparisons.

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Himes, C.L., Wagner, G.G., Wolf, D.A. et al. Nursing home entry in Germany and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 15, 99–118 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006797731500

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