Persons with need for assistance with basic activities of daily living, homemaker activities and other normal role activities (e.g., work, and school) comprise the long-term care (LTC) population. This population resides in health care institutions (e.g., nursing homes)and in community-based settings. Investigations of this population are difficult. The U.S. population residing in health care institutions is small (0.1 percent of those 18-64 and 4.9 percent of the 65+; Spector, et. al., 2000) and is typically excluded from household based surveys. In addition, while many surveys do include the LTC population (or some segment of it), it is often difficult to identify this population in a consistent manner resulting in a non-standard set of control totals and varying estimates for the population. Additionally, when the LTC population can be identified, the sample size is often insufficient for analysis of important sub-populations (e.g., the young, those in assistive living). Given the aging of the U.S. population and the important policy issues relevant to LTC (e.g., $117 billion in health care expenditures; HCFA), consideration needs to be given to design alternatives to enhance measurement of the LTC population. That is the purpose of this report. Person- and facility-based designs of the population will be contrasted; alternative definitions, and estimates, of the population (including the institutionalized) will be presented. Alternative sampling methodologies will be examined. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of possible questionnaire enhancements to existing national health care surveys that could be used to fill existing LTC data gaps. See www.ahrq.gov/research/futureltc/summary1.htm
Learning Objectives: 1. List alternative definitions of the long-term care population. 2. Delineate alternative sampling methodologies that could be used to measure the institutionalized and community dwelling long-term care population. 3. Articulate three advantages and disadvantages of the alternative methods.
Keywords: Special Populations, Data Collection
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: health care surveys of the U.S. Government, Department of Health and Human Services
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.