Table 5. Characteristics of Elderly Long-term Care (LTC) Users, 1984 and 1994
The Characteristics of Long-term Care Users
| Characteristics | 1984 | 1994 |
|---|---|---|
| Persons Aged 65 and Older (thousands) | 27,968 | 33,127 |
| Number of Users (thousands) | 5,504 | 5,537 |
| Percent of All Elderly | 19.7 | 16.7 |
| Mean Age (years) | 79.2 | 80.5 |
| Percent Distribution by Characteristic | ||
| Gender Female Male | 67.3 32.7 | 70.7 29.3 |
| Race White Black Other | 87.1 11.4 1.4 | 87.0 11.7 1.3 |
| Marital Status Married Widowed Never married Separated/divorced | 34.9 52.7 7.8 4.7 | 34.1 53.6 5.9 6.4 |
| Level of IADL/ADL Disability IADLs Only 1-2 ADLs 3-6 ADLs | 39.2 25.4 35.4 | 29.8 27.3 42.9 |
| Cognitively Impaired2 | 33.7 | 40.1 |
| Functional Limitations3,4 Upper body only Lower body only Upper and lower body Neither | 0.8 33.1 60.8 4.8 | 0.7 32.1 60.8 5.0 |
| Difficulty Seeing3 | 30.4 | 29.5 |
| Difficulty Hearing and Understanding3 | 10.9 | 12.3 |
| Difficulty with Communication3 | 4.7 | 5.3 |
| Service Use Informal care only Both informal and formal care Formal care only Institutional care | 51.2 19.3 3.8 25.6 | 40.1 25.7 4.6 29.6 |
Source: 1984 and 1994 National Long-term Care Surveys.
Note: Some percentages may not add to 100 because of missing values. For dichotomous variables except gender, excluded category not shown. Except where shown, missing values do not exceed 2% of the relevant sample.
1 Receipt of long-term care is defined as receiving human assistance or standby help with at least one of six ADLs and eight IADLs. The ADLs included are eating, transfer, toileting, getting around inside, dressing, and bathing. The IADLs are meal preparation, grocery shopping, light housework, laundry, financial management, taking medication, telephoning, and getting around outside.
2 Community dwelling elderly persons were classified as cognitively impaired if they (i) had Alzheimer's disease, mental retardation, or senility; or (ii) had a diagnosed ADL or IADL-linked mental condition or disorder based on ICD9-CM codes; or (iii) answered incorrectly to four or more questions in the Mini Mental Status Questionnaire (when applied). Institutionalized elderly persons were classified as cognitively impaired if condition (iii) above applied.
3 Available only for community disabled persons.
4 Lower body limitations included are difficulties with walking to the end of a room and back, climbing a flight of stairs, bending, and lifting a 10-pound package. Upper body limitations included are difficulty reaching above head, combing or brushing hair, and using fingers to grasp small objects.
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