Three Medicare-certified nursing homes are studied to determine factors of the organization, physical and social environment, and of the individuals that promote or deter social interaction. Social interaction is examined according to three phases: the tendency to congregate, the ability to impersonally interact with others, and the capacity to converse. Since conversation has been linked by others to rehabilitation, its promotion is stressed. Suggestions are made for creating a more functional social setting for the elderly, researching the behavioral basis for nursing home design, and for developing more meaningful building codes. This exploratory study serves as an example of how systematic environmental analysis may provide the direction necessary for implementing an extended care facility's goals.
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