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Understanding the characteristics of older adults in different residential settings: data sources and trends
Understanding the characteristics of older adults in different residential settings: data sources and trends
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Toth, Matthew, author
Palmer, Lauren A. Martin, author
Bercaw, Lawren E., author
Johnson, Ruby, author
Jones, Jessica, author
Love, Rebekah, author
Voltmer, Helena, author
Karon, Sarita, author - Contributor(s):
- United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Washington, D.C.] : United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Behavioral Health, Disability and Aging Policy, October 2020
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Residence Characteristics -- statistics & numerical data
Aged
Long-Term Care
United States - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- By 2050, the number of adults 65 years and older is expected to more than double to 88.5 million from 40.2 million in 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010a). As the population ages, the prevalence of disability and functional limitations, as well as the demand for long-term services and supports (LTSS), is anticipated to increase. A recent report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation estimated that more than half of older adults turning 65 will develop a disability that necessitates LTSS (Favreault & Dey, 2016). LTSS include a variety of personal care, mobility, health, and social services to assist individuals with functional limitations due to disability or other physical or cognitive conditions (Tach & Wiener, 2018). Despite this need, most older adults say they would like to live in their homes and communities for as long as they are able, rather than move to nursing homes, which provide high-acuity care for residents with serious health concerns, multiple comorbidities, and chronic conditions (Keenan, 2010). LTSS can be provided in a variety of residential settings, from traditional housing and assisted living (non-institutional) to nursing homes (institutional). Yet we lack consistent and reliable estimates of older adults' use of each type of setting. Most research has identified a trend toward an increasing use of non-institutional residential care, such as assisted living facilities (Silver et al., 2018), and a decline in the use of institutional care such as nursing homes (Spillman & Black, 2005; Grabowski, Stevenson, & Cornell, 2012; Degenholtz et al., 2016). However, survey and regulatory differences in the definitions of non-institutional LTSS can vary across surveys and states, hindering researchers' and policy makers' understanding of the LTSS needs of people residing in these settings. Building upon prior work by Spillman & Black (2006), this project describes where older adults live, how their needs differ by residential setting type, and how population demographics, health, disability, and functional status have changed over time. We present and compare information from different data sources and surveys, each with a slightly different sampling frame, purpose, and set of limitations. Exploring multiple data sources provides a more complete picture of the characteristics of older adults across different residential settings. Additionally, understanding the differences between survey methods provides insight into why the picture of the older adult population may vary depending on the source information. This work extends that of Spillman & Black by using more recent data from surveys that they analyzed. We also augment this data with information from other, more recent datasets that sample the older adult population and survey long-term care facilities. Through a longitudinal analysis of data from multiple sources, we address the following questions: (1) How many older adults live in traditional housing, community-based residential care facilities (RCFs), and nursing homes, and how have these numbers changed in recent years? (2) What do we know about the demographic, health, and functional characteristics of older adults living in these settings, and how they differ across the three types of living arrangements?
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (viii, 47 pages, 1 unnumbered page))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101775156 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101775156