Researchers have divided nursing home residents into long-stayers and short-stayers. While long-stayers rarely return home, they do not necessarily stay long in one institution. Instead, they may transfer from nursing home to nursing home. Although many studies have examined the impact of relocation on nursing home residents, few studies have…

Purpose: We estimate the independent contribution of crime victimization to nursing home placement in a cohort of older adults who were community dwelling at baseline. Design and Methods: The data come from an observational cohort study of 2,321 community-residing older adults who were members of the New Haven Established Populations for…

Summarizes validation of a standardized measure of the perceived stressfulness of becoming a nursing home resident derived through adaptation of the Holmes and Rahe scaling procedure for research on stressful life events. Preliminary findings suggest the measure is well adapted for comparing perceptions in specific groups within American society.…

This first section of this paper reviews the literature on the social world of the institutionalized elderly. Social factors contributing to institutionalization are discussed, including the personal and psychological background of residents. Social behavior and the institutional environment are reviewed, focusing on social interactions among…

This article provides a framework for understanding how long-term care (LTC) research contributes to policy, develops a typology of research contributions to policy with examples of each type, and suggests ways to ensure that contributions continue in the future. The article draws on in-depth interviews with LTC experts working at the interface…

Research on the use of paraprofessionals and trained volunteers for visitation programs with elders is limited. To determine the effects of a visitation program on nursing home residents and their college student and elder visitors, and to explore the effectiveness of special training for such visitation, nursing home residents (N=25) visited with…

A nursing home has three discharge tracks, determined at admission and reviewed periodically along with treatment plans. Advised by the admitting physicians, the nursing home social worker assesses each resident's discharge prognosis: (1) a discharge plan is in effect; (2) discharge is problematic; or (3) no discharge is planned. A substantial…

The quality of life of nursing home residents may be enhanced by providing them with opportunities to participate in social activities involving different age groups and community-dwelling age peers. To obtain descriptive data, and to investigate the relationships between patterns of social interaction and subject characteristics, time-sampled…

Analysis of 1980 census data reveals that elderly people (age 65 and over) living in Central and Southern Appalachia suffer more inferior life circumstances than the elderly population in the nation as a whole, falling well below national averages in terms of income, access to transportation, availability of telephones, and presence of resources…