Longitudinal Effects of Health Status on Changes in the Use of the Elderly Long-Term Care Insurance System of Older Adults in Korea

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal effects of health status on changes in the use of long-term care insurance for the elderly.Methods: The total subjects included 4,110 people aged 65 or over who responded to the 12th and 15th surveys of the Korea Welfare Panel Study. Frequency analysis, x2 test, correlation, and multinomial logistic regression were applied.Results: First, the group using the long-term care insurance system for the elderly was classified into ‘continue not using’ (88.8%), ‘new use’ (6.9%), ‘continued use’ (3.1%), and ‘discontinue use’ (1.2%). Second, examining the determinants of changes in the use of the elderly long-term care insurance system, when older adults were older, and when their depression was higher, it was highly possible for them to use the elderly long-term care insurance system. Also, the elderly in single households were more likely to belong to the ‘continuous non-use’ group.Conclusion: Older adults in the group of continuously using the elderly long-term care insurance system showed negative physical health status, mental health, and family relationship health compared to other groups. The elderly households composed of elderly couples were more likely to not use the elderly long-term care insurance system.