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Abstract Background Future demographic and economic changes warrant a better understanding of older persons’ need for health-related long-term care services (LTC). LTC uptake among older people is likely to be influenced by the presence or absence of family members, but there is scarce research on the role played by partners with different caregiving potential. There is even less research on the contributions of adult children and their caregiving potential. The current study examines the extent to which transitions into LTC in older men and women differ according to the presence and caregiving potential of partners and children. Methods Linked registry data for Norway on older persons (aged 65+), their partners, and their adult children are used to examine how characteristics of these family members influence transitions into LTC from 2010 to 2016, using logistic discrete-time hazard regression models. We observed around 215,000 transitions to LTC, corresponding to around 26.3% of individuals and 5.4% of the total person-years (4.0 million). Caregiving potential is measured in terms of employment, income, health and educational attainment for partners and education and geographical proximity for children. Results Personal, partner and child(ren)’s resources are all associated with older persons’ LTC uptake. Unpartnered and/or childless older people are more likely to use LTC than those with partners and/or child(ren). Older persons with resourceful partners and children are the least likely to transition into LTC. The geographical proximity of adult children appears to have only a minor influence on LTC use among older people. Conclusions Population ageing and strained public resources will likely challenge the future provision of formal old-age care. The role of family networks in the future provision of formal old-age care is expected to become progressively important in the years to come. Inequalities in the health, care and welfare of older persons with and without resourceful family members are likely to increase.

Abstract Background Knowledge of mortality differentials in immigrant groups depending on their reason for migration, length of stay in host countries and characteristics of sending countries may be beneficial for policy interventions aimed to improve various immigrant groups’ health and welfare. Methods We employed discrete-time hazard regression models with time-varying covariates to compare the death risk of immigrants to those of Norwegian-born natives using linked register data on the Norwegian population aged 25–79 during 1990–2015. More than 492,000 deaths occurred in around 4.6 million individuals. All analyses were adjusted for sex, age, calendar time and sociodemographic characteristics. Results Immigrants had an 11% survival advantage overall. Those immigrating due to work or education had the lowest death risk, whereas refugees had the highest death risk (albeit lower than that of natives). Death risks increased markedly with length of stay, and were most pronounced for those having spent more than 40% of their lives in Norway. Net of reason for migration, only minor differences were observed depending on Human Development Index characteristics of sending countries. Conclusion Independent of reason for migration and characteristics of sending countries, those who immigrate to Norway in adulthood appear to be particularly healthy. The higher death risk associated with prolonged lengths of stay suggests that disadvantageous ‘acculturation’ or stress factors related to the post-migration period may play a role in the long run. The health and welfare of long-term immigrants thus warrants further research.