PhD defence J.A.M. (Judith) Bom

Facing rapidly ageing populations many countries face a rising demand for long-term care, care or medical support to help elderly cope with their impairments. This increasing demand for care pressures LTC systems in many countries. To safeguard stability of LTC systems, various options to reduce LTC expenditures are currently considered. Stimulating informal care provision and ageing-in-place are often identified as two potential solutions in this regard. This thesis focuses on two questions related to these presumed solutions by studying the health impact of providing informal care and the determinants and impact of a nursing home admission.

Quantitative research into both the Dutch and foreign long-term care systems shows that family members and friends who provide intensive informal care to a loved one can experience negative mental health complaints as a result of their care tasks. In addition, these tasks are mainly provided by certain groups, which can lead to an unfair distribution of the burden. The focus on ageing in place seems to be partly based on the assumption that the elderly are afraid of the final move and are better off at home. However, based on self-reported well-being scores, no association is found between nursing home admissions and health and well-being problems. Rather, the findings seem to indicate that nursing homes are providing care to individuals who are already struggling with low levels of well-being.

Due to corona, the PhD defences do not take place publicly in the usual way in the Senate Hall or in the Professor Andries Querido Room. The candidates will defend their dissertation either in a small group or online.