Social Participation Among Older Adults Before and After Long-Term Care Facility Entry

How does social participation change before and after moving into a nursing home or assisted living facility?This cohort study including 606 older adults found that social participation in 5 activities decreased in the years before entry into a nursing home or assisted living facility entry. Entry was marked by increased community participation (15.6% for participating in clubs, 12.6% for attending religious services) and decreased going out for enjoyment (−14.1%); more specifically, men, nursing home entrants, and residents who were Black, Hispanic, and of other races or ethnicities participated less in activities after entry compared with White residents.These findings suggest that moving into a nursing home or an assisted living facility generally promotes community participation, reversing a tendency for entrants to participate less in the years at home before entry; however, this benefit may not apply equitably across sociodemographic groups.

Corresponding Author: Kenneth Lam, MD, MAS, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Academic Office 1, 8th Floor L15-8101, 12631 E 17th Ave, Aurora, CO 80045 (kenneth.lam@cuanschutz.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.