Abstract
Longitudinal changes in the characteristics of the nursing home population as represented in the most recent National Nursing Home Surveys (NNHS) were analyzed (1977 and 1985). This period is characterized by major changes in the delivery and financing of long term care services. These surveys of nursing home residents, staff, and facilities were used to examine aged nursing home resident's characteristics using the Grade of Membership (GoM) model. GoM searches for regularities both in profiles of the variables and in the grouping of cases [12]. Seven profiles explained individual variation in the health and functioning of the elderly (65+) nursing home population over time. Age heterogeneity in nursing home residents, and age-related clustering of medical conditions and functional status, were found. In the 1985 NNHS, a younger sick group and a young male group emerge for the first time as identifiable nursing home patient groups.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.