Where are the missing elders? The decline in nursing home use, 1985 and 1995

Findings from the 1995 National Nursing Home Survey suggest that elderly Am ericans are reducing their use of nursing home care. The numbers reflect a change in the role of the nursing home, as defined in this survey. By 1995 nursing facilities were increasingly focusing on patients with greater disa bility and postacute ca re needs. Preferred alternatives, most notably home -delivered care and assisted living, were likely filling the gap left by de clining nursing home use. Better population-based studies are needed to tra ck emerging trends and ascertain whether elders with disabilities are recei ving the care they need, Such data could inform development of better publi c and private financing strategies for long-term care.