Health Policy Manag.  2020 Mar;30(1):100-111. 10.4332/KJHPA.2020.30.1.100.

Variations and Factors Associated with the Supply and Utilization of Nursing Home Services in Japan and South Korea

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul, Korea
  • 2Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul, Korea
  • 3Institute of Aging, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
  • 4Department of Health Administration, Hanyang Cyber University, Seoul, Korea
  • 5Department of Health and Social Behavior, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract

Background
Few studies have examined the performance of the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) from the perspective of geographic equity. This study investigated regional variations and associated factors in the supply and utilization of nursing home care within and also between Japan and Korea.
Methods
A comparative dataset was developed by extracting data from 2013–2015 LTCI statistics yearbooks and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development regional statistics, as well as other comparable data in Japan and Korea. The unit of analysis was the prefecture in Japan and the province in Korea. We computed variation indices and conducted regression analyses for regional variations within each country and decomposition analyses to examine the variations between the countries.
Results
The overall regional supply and use of nursing home care were higher in Japan, but the regional variations in Korea were larger than in Japan. In both countries, the nursing home supply was negatively associated with the proportion of older people with independent living. Nursing home use was also negatively associated with the supply of hospital beds and home care agencies in Korea; the relationship was the opposite in Japan, however. The country-based differences were more likely to be explained by differences in the distributions of the variables included in the analytical model than country-specific characteristics.
Conclusion
Regional-level nursing home supply and use were unequal in both countries, and the contributing factors were not the same. Policy efforts are needed to advance regional equality in long-term care (LTC) and collaboration between health and LTC institutions for frail older people, especially in Korea.

Keyword

Long-term care system; Performance assessment; Regional equality; Decomposition analysis; Cross-national comparison
Full Text Links
  • HPM
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr