Well‐being right before and after a permanent nursing home admission

Permanent nursing home (NH) admissions are a frequent and major life event aimed at maintaining quality of life in old age. Yet, insights into the impact of a NH admission on well‐being are scarce and inconclusive. We evaluate the effect of a NH admission on domains of well‐being among those who are admitted using event study methodology for cross‐sections combined with inverse probability weighting. We apply this doubly robust approach to Dutch survey data on well‐being linked to extensive administrative data on NH admissions, health, and socio‐economic status. We find that a NH admission leads to a temporary increase in loneliness, the risk of anxiety and depression, and a loss of control over one's life. However, these scores revert to pre‐admission levels after 6 months. These findings may contribute to better‐informed individual‐level and policy decisions about potential NH entry and aging in place policies.