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The impact of spousal bereavement on hospitalisations: Evidence from the Scottish Longitudinal Study

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  • Fu‐Min Tseng
  • Dennis Petrie
  • Shaolin Wang
  • Colin Macduff
  • Audrey I. Stephen

Abstract

This paper estimates the impact of spousal bereavement on hospital inpatient use for the surviving bereaved by following the experience of 94,272 married Scottish individuals from 1991 until 2009 using a difference‐in‐difference model. We also consider the sample selection issues related to differences in survival between the bereaved and non‐bereaved using a simple Cox Proportional‐Hazard model. Before conducting these estimations, propensity score approaches are used to re‐weight the non‐bereaved to generate a more random‐like comparison sample for the bereaved. We find that those bereaved who survive are both more likely to be admitted and to stay longer in hospital than a comparable non‐bereaved cohort. Bereavement is estimated to induce on average an extra 0.24 (95% CI [0.15, 0.33]) hospital inpatient days per year. Similar to previous studies, we estimate the bereaved have a 19.2% (95% CI [12.5%, 26.3%]) higher mortality rate than the comparable non‐bereaved cohort.

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  • Fu‐Min Tseng & Dennis Petrie & Shaolin Wang & Colin Macduff & Audrey I. Stephen, 2018. "The impact of spousal bereavement on hospitalisations: Evidence from the Scottish Longitudinal Study," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 120-138, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:27:y:2018:i:2:p:e120-e138
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3573
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    4. Saisawat Samutpradit, 2024. "Surviving Loss: Coping Strategies among Widow Households in Thai Rural Areas," PIER Discussion Papers 213, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    5. Chunzhou Mu & Jane Hall, 2023. "Marital status and hospital use in older adults," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 185-213, June.
    6. Zhao, Yuejun & Inder, Brett & Kim, Jun Sung, 2021. "Spousal bereavement and the cognitive health of older adults in the US: New insights on channels, single items, and subjective evidence," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    7. Peña-Longobardo, L.M. & Rodríguez-Sánchez, B. & Oliva-Moreno, J., 2021. "The impact of widowhood on wellbeing, health, and care use: A longitudinal analysis across Europe," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    8. Hillebrandt, Marc-André, 2022. "Impact of changes in relationship status on smoking behavior and body weight," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).

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