Purpose: Almost half of people age 85 and older who die annually in the United States die as nursing home residents, yet because it is not always clear who is close to death, not all residents who might benefit from end-of-life care receive it. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for organizing social interactions related to…

Purpose: To identify differences in perspectives that may complicate the process of joint decision making at the end of life, this study determined the agreement of family and staff perspectives about end-of-life experiences in nursing homes and residential care/assisted living communities and whether family and staff roles, involvement in care,…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe good quality care at the end of life (EOL) for hospice-enrolled residents in assisted living facilities (ALFs). Design and Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used to obtain detailed descriptions of EOL care provided by ALF medication aides, caregivers, nurses, and hospice nurses in…

Purpose: To better understand the experiences and potential unmet need of persons who die in long-term care. Design and Methods: We conducted after-death interviews with staff who had cared for 422 decedents with dementia and 159 who were cognitively intact and received terminal care in U.S. nursing homes (NHs) or residential care-assisted living…

Purpose: We designed this study to examine the end-of-life (EOL) experience in long-term care (LTC) based on input from key stakeholders. Design and Methods: The study consisted of 10 homogeneous focus groups drawn from a purposive sample of LTC residents (2 groups; total n = 11), family caregivers (2 groups; total n = 19), paraprofessional staff…

Purpose: Longitudinal research in dementia has acknowledged the importance of transitions during the course of family caregiving. However, long-term adaptation to institutionalization has received little attention. This study attempts to describe caregivers' adaptation (changes in stress, well-being, and psychosocial resources) to placement up to…

Relocation of older patients had a positive effect on hypochondria, stamina, hygiene, and daily functioning but no effect on health status. Self-health assessments, stamina, hypochondria, and hygiene had no effect on the mortality rate of relocated patients, but daily functioning did effect the mortality rate. (Author)

Death rates among those referred to project services were lower within the first six months after enrollment, and the mortality rate difference was maintained throughout the first year. Death rate differences were related to specific long-term care services recommended and received, and to initial functional health status. (Author)