Seniors and Nursing Home Study

Paper Summary:

This paper critiques a study done on whether seniors understood the risks of moving to a nursing home. The stated research question was how best to provide long-term care services for the aging US population over the 21st century. The means of gathering data as well as the study's limitations are presented. The author concludes that the findings of this study could be somewhat useful, but may be too generic for any immediate solution, with the exception that younger people probably need to be more fully educated in the statistics that they are facing later.

From the Paper:

"In the Health Services Research report by Donald H. Taylor, Jr. Jan Osterman, S. Will Acuff and Truis Ostbye, the abstract's stated objective is to determine whether seniors understand their risk of moving to a nursing home. The conclusion, however, addresses why the study was done, which is to determine whether low rates of private long-term care insurance are a result of seniors underestimating their personal risk of moving to a nursing home. There is no clear hypothesis stated as a basis for the study. Further, on page 6 of the study, the second paragraph clarifies that the focus of the study is, in fact, on two questions: a) Do individual's beliefs about their likelihood of moving to a nursing home predict their actual move to one and, b) do individuals over or underestimate their likelihood of moving to a nursing home? These questions, combined, make a more cohesive focus to address the overall purpose of the study, which is, finally, how to best provide long-term care services for the aging US population over the 21st century. Once that is established, it is easier to interpret the study."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Consumer Reports, "Do you need long-term-care insurance?" http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/personal-finance/longterm-care-insurance- 1103/overview.htm, Accessed 02/22/06.
• Taylor, Donald H., Jr., Jan Osterman, s. Will Acuff and Truis Ostbye. "Health Services Research" June 2005. American College of Healthcare Executives http://web1.infotrac.galegroup.com

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