Balance of care considerations for elderly persons: dependency, placement and opportunity costs

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Abstract
This paper is primarily an investigation of two distinct groups of eldely persons deemed by the appropriate health professional to be on the margins of domiciliary care and institutional care respectively. One group of elderly live at home but are on the margin of institutional care. The other group are in a long-stay institution but could, under some circumstances, be cared for at home in the community. The formal and informal costs of care are enumerated, measured and valued using an opportunity cost methodology. The dependency characteristics of the elderly persons are also examined while factors that determine their current placement are explored using a logit model.