The Pandemic’s Long Shadow: Persistent Nursing Home Aversion across Sociodemographic Groups

This paper examines whether the changes in long-term care (LTC) preferences, saving behavior, and policy attitudes observed during the COVID-19 pandemic have persisted in the post-pandemic period. Using new survey data collected in 2023 from a representative sample of working-age individuals in Ontario and Qu´ebec, we compare responses to those obtained during the first phase of the pandemic in 2020. We document that nursing-home aversion remains widespread several years after the crisis and continues to shape economic behavior and policy preferences. Individuals who are more averse to nursing homes are significantly more likely to plan to increase saving for old age and to support public subsidies for home care. These relationships are robust across demographic and socioeconomic groups, indicating that the effects are not confined to specific subpopulations. Overall, our findings suggest that the pandemic has led to persistent changes in preferences with important implications for LTC financing and policy design. In particular, the continued mismatch between household preferences and the current emphasis on institutional care highlights the need to reassess the allocation of public resources toward home-based care.