After the death of a partner, many older people suddenly find themselves on their own. Partners often provide the bulk of informal care and handle most daily support. When that disappears, it creates a gap that children or professional caregivers cannot always fill immediately. Schouwenaar explains: “We see that the risk of institutionalization is particularly high in the first months after a partner’s death. After about ten months, this effect begins to fade.”
Older adults who are already frail appear especially vulnerable. For them, losing their partner often marks the point at which living independently at home is no longer feasible. The study also shows that the nature of health problems matters: among people with dementia, the likelihood of admission rises sharply but briefly, whereas for those with physical conditions, the increase is smaller but lasts longer. Men and women face a similar level of risk. In particular, older adults who already receive home care are more likely to require long-term care after their partner’s death,” Schouwenaar adds.
These findings shed new light on Dutch policies aimed at keeping older people at home for as long as possible. According to Schouwenaar, the research highlights the limits of that policy. Schouwenaar: “Without a partner, it’s often difficult to continue living independently. Temporary support during the first months could make a real difference in preventing or postponing institutionalization. But it also raises the question of whether postponing long-term care is always desirable or even feasible.” It remains unclear whether living at home longer is always cost-effective; further research is needed to determine this.
For her study, Schouwenaar used data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on nearly 49,000 older adults who lost their partner between 2018 and 2019. By analyzing these data, she was able to map in detail how partner loss affects the need for long-term care. The project also involved VU health economists France Portrait, Yvonne Krabbe-Alkemade, and Maarten Lindeboom, as well as VU economist Pierre Koning.