Study: Immigrants help address the US eldercare shortage
A study of U.S. metro areas shows changes in immigration levels can affect how much nursing care the elderly receive. When there is more immigration, registered nurses and other aides work more hours at nursing homes, without displacing already-employed caregivers, and patient outcomes improve.
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Economists find that in metro areas with more immigration, nurses are spending more time with elderly patients. Peter Dizikes | MIT News Publication Date: April 30, 2026 Press Inquiries Press Contact: Abby Abazorius Email: [email protected] Phone: 617-253-2709 MIT News Office Close Caption: “One of the key groups that’s taking care of our nation’s elders is immigrants,” Jonathan Gruber says. “So I thought it would be fascinating to understand how much does immigration actually matter for elder care.” Credits: Image: iStock Previous image Next image Good caregivers are often in short supply, but after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in early 2020, staff levels at nursing homes dropped by 10 percent.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at MIT News.