The main determinants of rehospitalization of elderly people were stud
ied with a longitudinal sample of 264 persons older than 60 years at a
midwestern, urban, university-affiliated hospital. Path analysis was
applied to survey, data collected for this study. Seventeen percent of
subjects were readmitted within 30 days of discharge. Controlling for
health and socioeconomic factors, the main determinant of readmission
was the discharge placement; those placed back into the community for
care in the home were more likely to be rehospitalized than those dis
charged to institutions. Contrary to predictions in the literature and
the authors' expectations, patient involvement in discharge planning
had no discernible effect on placement decisions and subsequent hospit
alization. The implications of these findings for discharge planning b
y social workers are discussed.