More family members than residents reported that they had had discussions with physicians on these topics. McAuley, William J., and Paula M. Usita. A Conceptual Model for the Mobility Patterns of Nursing Home Admissions. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the prevalent thinking was that moves to nursing facilities were typically local moves. The authors recommend broadening study of the geographic patterns of facility admission to track more accurately patterns of migration.
Relocations are significant events in the life of the resident.
The cumulative demographic impacts are substantial. As many as 22 percent of all elderly persons over the age of 85 reside in facilities. A 1997 study suggests that between 36 percent and 55 percent of people aged 65 will spend some time in a nursing facility before death. Often the decision to move and the decisions surrounding where to move are consolidated. A move to a nursing facility can be involuntary and the resident may have little input.