Nursing home residents at risk of hospitalization and the characteristics of their hospital stays.

Little national data have been available to guide the design of programs aimed at reducing the hospitalization of nursing home residents. This article uses the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey to identify elderly nursing home residents with an elevated risk of hospitalization and the reasons for and outcomes of residents' hospital stays. Study findings include an elevated risk of hospitalization for residents with one of several different primary diagnoses and a rise in risk as ADL dependence increases. An infection was the main medical reason for roughly 27% of hospital stays. The results suggest possible target groups for two types of programs aimed at reducing hospitalization.