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. 2023 Aug 17;78(11):1935–1946. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbad118

Table 5.

Sources of Help by Family Structure and Region, Among Respondents Reporting Difficulty with ADLs and Living in Nursing Homes, SHARE (2015 and 2019)

Family structure
Partnered, has child(ren) Partnered, no children Unpartnered, has children Kinless:
Unpartnered, no children
Northern Europe
Spouse/partner only 18.5 15.3d NA NA
Children only 2.1 NA 6.2e NA
Mix of family members 1.0 1.8 2.0 5.4 a,b,c
Nonfamily members only 5.8 4.5 19.0 19.7a,b,c
Mix of family and nonfamily 4.9 8.5 2.7 3.0 a,b
Live in nursing home 4.7 7.6 14.2 21.9a,b,c
Care gap: receives no unpaid or paid care 63.0 62.4 55.8 50.0a,b,c
Western Europe
Spouse/partner only 18.9 13.1d NA NA
Children only 0.8 NA 5.5e NA
Mix of family members 0.9 0.0 1.3 4.0a,c
Nonfamily members only 4.9 10.8 18.7 18.5a,b,c
Mix of family and nonfamily 13.4 9.9 12.0 6.5a,b,c
Live in nursing home 3.0 1.9 14.8 23.4a,b,c
Care gap: receives no unpaid or paid care 58.1 64.3 47.7 47.7a,b
Southern Europe
Spouse/partner only 24.3 45.4d NA NA
Children only 7.9 NA 29.9e NA
Mix of family members 6.1 8.5 2.4 16.8a,b,c
Nonfamily members only 6.6 13.7 12.1 21.9a,b,c
Mix of family and nonfamily 10.9 10.6 12.0 7.1a,b,c
Live in nursing home 1.5 0.01 6.7 22.8a,b,c
Care gap: receives no unpaid or paid care 42.7 21.9 36.9 31.5a,b,c
Eastern Europe
Spouse/partner only 24.6 30.7d NA NA
Children only 5.6 NA 29.7e NA
Mix of family members 6.6 0.0 3.4 19.6 a,c
Nonfamily members only 1.4 6.5 4.2 7.5a,b,cc
Mix of family and nonfamily 4.8 21.1 6.4 6.7a,b
Live in nursing home 1.0 5.2 3.3 12.5a,b,c
Care gap: receives no unpaid or paid care 56.0 36.5 53.0 53.8a,b,c
Israel
Spouse/partner only 17.9 7.2d NA NA
Children only 6.1 NA 8.0e NA
Mix of family members 1.2 0.0 0.0 5.0a
Nonfamily members only 19.9 54.2 38.4 50.1a,b,c
Mix of family and nonfamily 20.8 30.2 16.6 5.4a,b,c
Live in nursing home 3.4 0.0 12.9e 0.0
Care gap: receives no unpaid or paid care 30.7 8.4 24.1 39.4a,b,c

Notes: The analytic sample is respondents aged 50 and older who have difficulty with at least one ADL or live in a nursing home. The total N = 14,355.

We tested whether kinless respondents differ significantly from respondents

awith a partner and children

bwith a partner and no children

cno partner and children

dWe also tested differences between those with a partner and no children from those with a partner and children, and

edifferences between no partner and children from those with a partner and children (p < .05).