College education and physical activity help predict who ends up moving from assisted living to nursing facilities

Approximately 900,000 people in the United States live in assisted living, and approximately 15% may move into a nursing facility each year. However, little is known about the risk factors associated with such relocation.

To achieve this goal, researchers at the University of Michigan School of Nursing examined data on U.S. nursing home residents over an eight-year period to determine which residents moved into nursing homes and which residents remained in nursing homes. Now I understand why.

The study results are published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

They identified risk factors at the beginning of the study and throughout the eight years. Their goals were twofold. One is to examine which initial factors are associated with subsequent nursing home transfer. and to determine which factors were associated with nursing home transfer over time during the study period.

Here are the findings:

Over eight years, 15 percent of assisted living seniors moved into nursing homes. Higher physical fitness and college education at the start of the study were associated with lower risk of nursing home transfer. Maintaining better physical performance and activities of daily living and participating in physical activity over time were associated with lower risk of nursing home admission.

Jung Yoen Son is the study’s lead author and a Ph.D. Nursing candidates said their level of education could contribute to the formation of a healthy lifestyle that lasts into old age.

“It can impact how we manage chronic conditions, how much time and resources we spend managing chronic conditions, and how much time we spend on healthy behaviors,” she says. “All of these things can ultimately impact any health condition.”

Physical performance is an objective test that measures things like balance, which affects your level of physical activity. Daily activities include activities such as going to the bathroom, brushing teeth, eating, and getting dressed.

One surprising finding was that at the beginning of the study, people maintained the ability to perform activities of daily living, but reported having significant problems related to mobility on physical performance tests. .

The study’s principal investigator, Janet Larson, a professor at the School of Nursing at Sheikh Ketefian University, said one reason for this discrepancy is that activities of daily living are self-reported, and physical performance is an objective test. He said that the key is to not put a burden on the system.

“It’s easier to maintain your daily activities than it is to get a really high score in performance,” she said.

Larson said the findings could persuade people in assisted living facilities to move more if they haven’t already.

“One of my main motivations is to bring attention to it (risk factors) and help people understand the impact,” she said. “Some people may be very concerned about maintaining their physical activity and mobility, while others may say, ‘I’ve worked all my life and I’m here to rest.’ If your physical ability and physical activity decline, you risk going to a nursing home, and no one wants to go to a nursing home.”

Understanding these risk factors can also help nursing homes design programs to support at-risk residents, Son said.

The study involved 970 people aged 65 and older who lived in assisted living facilities between 2011 and 2019. Of these, 143 people moved to nursing homes.