Impact of COVID-19 on Long-Term Care Service Utilization of Older Home-Dwelling Adults in Japan.
Shinya Ishii, Kazutaka Tanabe, Bunji Ishimaru and 1 others
PMID 36592936WHAT IT FOUND
Long-term care service use for home-dwelling older adults in Japan dropped sharply during the April 2020 state of emergency.
Commuting and short-stay services fell most, while home visits declined less. Recovery was uneven.
Key findings
01Service use declined significantly at the start of the state of emergency, with commuting and short-stay services falling more than home visit services.
02People with dementia maintained or increased service use compared to those without dementia, particularly in commuting and short-stay services.
03The decline in service use was associated with the state of emergency policy rather than the number of local COVID-19 cases.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study did not include data on comorbidities or socioeconomic status, which may influence service use. The analysis period began in 2019, so longer-term trends prior to that date could not be accounted for. The study describes changes in utilization but does not clarify whether declines were due to patient fear, provider closures, or staff shortages. Results are specific to the Japanese long-term care insurance system and may not generalize to other healthcare structures.
Declared interests
The study was planned by the corresponding author and conducted as part of a project within the Division of Health for the Elderly of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan. The MHLW provided the preprocessed data.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the drop in service use reflects only patient avoidance. The data indicates the decline was strongly linked to the state of emergency declaration and provider suspensions, rather than just local infection rates.