Variation in Excess Mortality Across Nursing Homes in the Netherlands During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: Nursing home residents constituted a vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic, and half of all cause-attributed COVID-19 deaths occurred within nursing homes. Yet, given the low life expectancy of nursing home residents, it is unclear to what extent COVID-19 mortality increased overall mortality within this population. Moreover, there might have been differences between nursing homes in their ability to protect residents against excess mortality.

Construct Validity, Reliability, and Responsiveness of the 10-Item Well-Being Instrument for Use in Economic Evaluation Studies.

Objectives: Economic evaluations of interventions in health and social care require outcome measures that capture their full benefits, including those beyond health. This study aimed to assess construct validity, test-retest reliability, and responsiveness of the newly developed 10-item Well-being instrument (WiX).

Methods: Data were gathered via an online survey in a representative sample of the adult general population in The Netherlands (N = 1045).

Health seeking behaviours and private sector delivery of care for non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Background: Globally, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity placing a huge burden on individuals, families and health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This rising disease burden calls for policy responses that engage the entire health care system. This study aims to synthesize evidence on how people with NCDs choose their healthcare providers in LMICs, and the outcomes of these choices, with a focus on private sector delivery.

Health seeking behaviours and private sector delivery of care for non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries: protocol for a systematic review.

Introduction: The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has increased substantially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and adapting health service delivery models to address this remains a challenge. Many patients with NCD seek private care at different points in their encounters with the health system, but the determinants and outcomes of these choices are insufficiently understood. The proposed systematic review will help inform the governance of mixed health systems towards achieving the goal of universal health coverage.

Well-being right before and after a permanent nursing home admission.

Permanent nursing home (NH) admissions are a frequent and major life event aimed at maintaining quality of life in old age. Yet, insights into the impact of a NH admission on well-being are scarce and inconclusive. We evaluate the effect of a NH admission on domains of well-being among those who are admitted using event study methodology for cross-sections combined with inverse probability weighting.

Health Care Use and Out-of-pocket Spending by Persons With Dementia Differ Between Europe and the United States.

Background: Persons with dementia need much care, but what care is used and how the burden of financing is divided between persons with dementia, caregivers, and public programs may differ between countries.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare how health care use and out-of-pocket (OOP) spending associated with dementia differ between the United States and Europe, with and without controlling for background characteristics.

Research Design: We use prospectively collected survey data from the United States-based Health and Retirement Study (n=48,877) and the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (n=98,971) including all adults over the age of 70 years.

Is the grass greener on the other side? The health impact of providing informal care in the UK and the Netherlands.

Facing rapidly ageing populations, many Western countries aim to stimulate informal care provision as a way to meet the growing long-term care (LTC) demand. While various studies report the impact of providing informal care on the health of caregivers, it is less clear whether and to what extent this impact differs across countries. Using propensity score matching we match caregivers to similar non-caregiving individuals using four waves of the Dutch Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation and the UK Household Longitudinal Study.

The Impact of Informal Caregiving for Older Adults on the Health of Various Types of Caregivers: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Informal care, the provision of unpaid care to dependent friends or family members, is often associated with physical and mental health effects. As some individuals are more likely to provide caregiving tasks than others, estimating the causal impact of caregiving is difficult. This systematic literature review provides an overview of all studies aimed at estimating the causal effect of informal caregiving on the health of various subgroups of caregivers.