This study explored key aspects of resident transitions to assisted living (AL), including the frequency and importance of preadmission resident education and the potential role of social workers in this setting. To examine the factors that may help or hinder resident transitions to AL, a written survey was administered to a statewide,…

This study addresses the factors influencing decisions to send medicine-surgical (med-surg) patients home or to nursing facilities (NFs). The sample (n = 7,852) was taken from a large, urban, teaching, med-surg unit where discharges were documented and data collected over a two-and-a-half-year period. Using logistical regression, the factors found…

This study aimed to examine the implementation, adequacy, and outcomes of discharge planning. The authors carried out a prospective study of 1,426 adult patients discharged from 11 acute care hospitals in Israel. Social workers provided detailed discharge plans on each patient. Telephone interviews were conducted two weeks post-discharge. Findings…

The purpose of this survey was to describe nursing home social services staff roles and perceptions related to end-of-life medical decision making for nursing home residents in endstage dementia. Using a self-designed questionnaire, 138 nursing home social services staff from across New York State answered questions about advance directives,…

Describes the alcohol-related policies, practices, and problems experienced by a sample of intermediate care facilities and homes for elderly people. Despite the problems reported, screening for alcohol problems among residents, treatment of identified problems, and training of staff were not found to be widespread. Challenges to social workers…

This research sought to identify organizational characteristics associated with the amount of professional qualifications among a nationally representative sample of nursing home social service directors. A self-administered survey was sent to directors in 675 facilities randomly sampled from a federal database, excluding facilities with fewer…

Surveyed 90 administrative and nonadministrative social workers employed in nursing homes who identified their level of influence in 5 spheres of organizational decision making. There were few differences between the two groups. However, among directors, number of full-time equivalent social workers, type of institution ownership, and length of…

Data on discharge process and caregiver satisfaction were collected from 179 caregivers of hospitalized dementia patients. Findings indicate that social workers are important influences in discharge decisions especially when discharge is to a nursing home. Findings from regression analyses indicate that caregiver satisfaction is dependent on the…

Studied discharge plans for 369 African American and white elderly patients and examined posthospital care options pursued by social workers, patients, and families. Discharge planning with African American patients and family members involved less pursuit of nursing home care and more pursuit of formal services in the home than planning with…