The Characteristics of Long-term Care Users. Table 10

Table 10. Characteristics of Long-term Care (LTC) Users by Age and Setting, 1994 and 1996

CharacteristicsCommunityNursing Home
Aged 18-64Aged 65 & OlderAged 18-64Aged 65 & Older
Population (thousands)3,363
(46.7%)		3,823
(53.3%)		138
(8.8%)		1,425
(91.2%)
Mean Age (years)44.579.151.084.6
Gender
Female
Male		57.6
42.4		67.3
32.7		51.0
49.0		73.9
26.1
Race
White
Black
Other		77.0
19.0
4.0		86.4
11.6
2.0		76.1
19.2
4.7		89.9
7.9
2.2
Marital Status
Married
Never married
Widowed
Divorced/separated		47.3
29.2
4.8
18.4		37.2
4.2
51.8
6.6		16.4
27.0
10.3
46.3		16.7
11.3
64.5
7.5
Education
Less than 12 years
12 years
Greater than 12 years
Missing		34.3
39.4
23.5
2.7
 		51.5
27.5
17.4
3.7
 		42.9
23.8
16.9
16.4
 		43.6
18.9
15.6
21.9
 
Employment (last 2 weeks)
Working
Not in labor force
Other		18.7
75.5
5.8		1.1
98.2
0.8		—
—
—		—
—
—
Poverty26.514.7——
Level of IADL/ADL Disability
IADL only
1-2 ADLs
3-6 ADLs		55.9
26.7
17.4		49.4
29.0
21.7		7.7
14.5
75.5		2.1
13.9
83.2
Functional Limitations
Lower body only
Upper body only
Lower and upper body
Neither		33.3
1.6
38.1
26.2		47.7
0.9
40.3
10.2		—
—
—
—		—
—
—
—
Use Mobility Equipment24.952.913.027.0
Use Wheelchair12.719.965.266.8
Problems with Dizziness14.812.6——
Difficulty Seeing17.429.230.239.5
Difficulty Hearing11.330.112.837.5
Difficulty Communicating11.68.516.612.1
Difficulty Understanding Others9.812.212.09.8
Mental Retardation11.60.5——

Source: 1994 Disability Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey (community-based users), and 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Nursing Home Component (nursing home residents).

Note: Entries in table are column percentages; for dichotomous items the reference group is not shown. Missing data are only indicated if greater than 2% of cases. ADL/IADL disability estimates of elderly community care recipients differ from estimates in Table 6, which are from the NLTCS. Beyond sampling error, the estimates differ mainly because ADL and IADL disabilities are restricted to persons with problems lasting or expected to last 3 months, while such a restriction is not applied in the NHIS-D. In addition estimates may vary because of differences in sampling frames in the two surveys. Estimates of elderly nursing home residents are not directly comparable to previously reported estimates from the NLTCS because the latter survey encompassed a broader array of institutional settings, while the MEPS sampled only nursing home residents.

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Current as of January 2001
Internet Citation: The Characteristics of Long-term Care Users. Table 10: Table 10. Characteristics of Long-term Care (LTC) Users by Age and Setting, 1994 and 1996. January 2001. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/systems/long-term-care/resources/facilities/ltcusers/tab10use.html