Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
移民护理人员在改善老年人福利和降低公共卫生成本中的作用
The role of immigrant caregivers in improving the welfare of elders and reducing public health costs
摘要
This paper examines the impact of paid migrant home care on elderly health outcomes in Italy. The results show that an increase in migrants’ presence reduces both the frequency and duration of hospitalisations. Specifically, a 1 percentage-point increase in the migrant-to-elderly ratio leads to a decline in long-term and rehabilitation inpatient (LRI) admissions of 118 cases per 100,000 elders, with no measurable effect on acute inpatient stays. There is also a reduction in the average length of stay of 0.141 days, rising to 0.956 days for LRI cases. These effects are driven by diagnoses related to traumatic injuries, musculoskeletal, and genitourinary conditions — areas closely linked to home mobility and care management. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that the average annual increase of 1.3 percentage points in the migrant-to-elderly ratio observed during the study period corresponds to an 8% reduction in elderly LRI hospitalisation costs, equivalent to 252.3 million euros.
中文摘要
本文考察了意大利有偿移民家庭护理对老年人健康结果的影响。结果表明，移民存在的增加同时降低了住院的频率和持续时间。具体而言，移民与老年人比例每增加1个百分点，长期及康复住院（LRI）入院人数每10万名老年人减少118例，而对急性住院未见可测量的影响。平均住院时长也减少了0.141天，对于LRI病例则升至0.956天。这些效应主要由与创伤性损伤、肌肉骨骼及泌尿生殖系统疾病相关的诊断所驱动——这些领域与家庭活动能力和护理管理密切相关。粗略估算表明，研究期间观察到的移民与老年人比例年均增加1.3个百分点，对应老年人LRI住院成本降低8%，相当于2.523亿欧元。