While many older adults believe senior living care, including nursing homes, meets safety, care and meals well, operators can do a better job of promoting resident independence, privacy and respect to the same degree.
According to a report based on a survey conducted by A Place for Mom and published on Wednesday, older adults expressed the desire to reside in facilities that meet their care needs while preserving choice, routines and relationships.
“Senior living communities need to show what daily life can look like, including the choices people can make for themselves and how they can stay connected to the people and routines they love,” said Tatyana Zlotsky, CEO of A Place for Mom.
About 54% of potential residents said that their practical needs were met in facilities, while 34% said such personal needs as privacy and independence were also fulfilled.
The survey included 1,391 adults between ages 60 and 90, commissioned by A Place for Mom and conducted by Morning Light Strategy in August. The platform includes 500,000 family reviews of senior living communities and home care agencies.
In the area of post-acute care technology, falls prevention tech was favored over AI companionship, with 38% of older adults interested in learning more about embedded falls prevention, detection and response technology – without a camera.
About 34%, expressed the same level of interest in a smartphone-powered personalized health aging program, while 29% said an AI companion might help them; 46% were slightly to not interested at all in such tech.
Findings suggest potential residents are defining the standard for the next generation of senior living, including nursing home care.
“Finding the right care starts with understanding what matters to your loved one and how they want to live,” said Zlotsky. “Our role is to help families ask the right questions and understand their options, so they feel confident in the decision and can focus on their relationship with the person they love.”
A balance between control and support
Overall, the report found that potential residents want support while keeping control over their daily life, and many still link nursing home care to a future need or unexpected change.
About 37% of older adults pointed to maintenance-free living as an advantage to living in a nursing home, while 30% said having help be available if needs change was a huge plus. About 26% said there are more opportunities to socialize and make friends in an institutional setting like a nursing home.
However, 42% cited less privacy as a big disadvantage, while 36% said giving up control over daily life was another drawback of nursing home life.
About 35% of older adults said the prospect of leaving their home and surrounding neighborhood was another negative, and another 35% said losing independence was yet another disadvantage of the nursing home setting.
Caregivers can take use insights to ask the right questions, according to the report, moving past general conversations about what setting is the right fit and focusing more on what kind of support older adults want.
That support could be molded to better accommodate schedule options, privacy, meals, routines, visitors, activities, changing care needs and opportunities to maintain meaningful relationships.
And starting conversations early can help families understand how their loved one wants to live, and pick a community with those preferences in mind. Especially since few expect to seriously consider a move soon; only 7% said they might need to move into a nursing home in the next two years.
Meanwhile, 35% said they would consider a move only if their circumstances changed unexpectedly; 18% didn’t know when they might consider nursing home care. And when the move to senior care was seriously considered, it would still be a last resort, 10% of older adults said.
The key to building trust among residents
The report also found that older adults look to other residents, families and friends for insight on the type of care setting they should choose. Trust and firsthand experience are crucial in how older adults evaluate senior care, including nursing homes. Potential residents want information they can evaluate for themselves.
And 56% said finding a trustworthy community is difficult, with 22% saying they were very confident that caregivers in a community were well trained.
About 54% of older adults said knowing someone who lived in a facility influenced their views, while 36% said family and friends influenced their decision making, and 29% were swayed by visiting a facility.
Roughly 45% of potential residents said they had personally visited a nursing home, and 65% had an in-depth conversation about another person’s experience in a facility. Among those that had such conversations, 81% said the person’s experience met or exceeded their expectations.
Factors likely to increase trust were inspection and licensing records, opportunities to speak privately with current residents or their families, and transparent pricing. Staff Qualifications or credentials and community tours also built trust among older adults.
Residents are also looking for a sense of belonging, the report found, which meant feeling welcome and staying connected, while building meaningful relationships and being accepted for who they are.
And care settings that continue familiar activities are part of that sense of belonging too, instead of getting involved with new activities.
About 61% said staff and residents welcoming them to the facility is a positive, and 57% said fostering relationships with people in a similar stage of life would add to their sense of belonging.
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