RESIDENTIAL DIFFERENCES IN THE INCIDENCE OF NURSING-HOME ADMISSIONS ACROSS A 6-YEAR PERIOD

Data from the Longitudinal Study of Aging are used to examine the inci dence of nursing home admissions over a six-year period (1984-1990) am ong older adults (70+ at T-1) living in four different residential con texts. Bivariate analysis identified significant differences between r esidence groups. Elders from less urbanized and thinly populated nonme tropolitan counties had the highest likelihood of admissions, while ol der residents of large metropolitan areas had the lowest. In multivari ate models, differences by residence could not be accounted for by soc iodemographic, health, and social support network characteristics that are known to influence admissions. Further research is needed to iden tify the specific community context factors that account for variation by place of residence in admissions experiences.