Elderly applicants to long-term care institutions. II. The application process; placement and care needs.

As part of a study of long-term institutional care of the elderly, this report presents salient data concerning 193 elderly applicants. Physicians play an important role in decisions to apply for such care. More than half of the applicants and about 80% of their family members approved of the proposed move. The number applying to homes for the aged vs. other institutions seemed much greater than appropriate; many of these applicants appeared more elibible for placement in foster homes and specialized facilities for the demented, or for remaining in their own homes. About a fifth of the applicants could have continued living independently if they had received a reasonable amount of community assistance. Action implications include: 1) expansion and more informed use of community services, 2) more programs of supervised foster homes for the elderly, 3) construction of specialized institutions for the demented, and 4) a greater effort by institutions to satisfy the desire of many new residents to be involved there in useful tasks.