Table 10. Characteristics of Long-term Care (LTC) Users by Age and Setting, 1994 and 1996
| Characteristics |
Community |
Nursing Home |
| Aged 18-64 |
Aged 65 & Older |
Aged 18-64 |
Aged 65 & Older |
| Population (thousands) |
3,363
(46.7%) |
3,823
(53.3%) |
138
(8.8%) |
1,425
(91.2%) |
| Mean Age (years) |
44.5 |
79.1 |
51.0 |
84.6 |
Gender
Female
Male
|
57.6
42.4 |
67.3
32.7 |
51.0
49.0 |
73.9
26.1 |
Race
White
Black
Other |
77.0
19.0
4.0 |
86.4
11.6
2.0 |
76.1
19.2
4.7 |
89.9
7.9
2.2 |
Marital Status
Married
Never married
Widowed
Divorced/separated
|
47.3
29.2
4.8
18.4 |
37.2
4.2
51.8
6.6 |
16.4
27.0
10.3
46.3 |
16.7
11.3
64.5
7.5 |
Education
Less than 12 years
12 years
Greater than 12 years
Missing |
34.3
39.4
23.5
2.7
|
51.5
27.5
17.4
3.7
|
42.9
23.8
16.9
16.4
|
43.6
18.9
15.6
21.9
|
Employment (last 2 weeks)
Working
Not in labor force
Other |
18.7
75.5
5.8 |
1.1
98.2
0.8 |
—
—
— |
—
—
— |
| Poverty
|
26.5 |
14.7 |
— |
— |
Level of IADL/ADL Disability
IADL only
1-2 ADLs
3-6 ADLs |
55.9
26.7
17.4 |
49.4
29.0
21.7 |
7.7
14.5
75.5 |
2.1
13.9
83.2 |
Functional Limitations
Lower body only
Upper body only
Lower and upper body
Neither |
33.3
1.6
38.1
26.2 |
47.7
0.9
40.3
10.2 |
—
—
—
— |
—
—
—
— |
| Use Mobility Equipment
|
24.9 |
52.9 |
13.0 |
27.0 |
| Use Wheelchair |
12.7 |
19.9 |
65.2 |
66.8 |
| Problems with Dizziness |
14.8 |
12.6 |
— |
— |
| Difficulty Seeing |
17.4 |
29.2 |
30.2 |
39.5 |
| Difficulty Hearing
|
11.3 |
30.1 |
12.8 |
37.5 |
| Difficulty Communicating |
11.6 |
8.5 |
16.6 |
12.1 |
| Difficulty Understanding Others |
9.8 |
12.2 |
12.0 |
9.8 |
|
Mental Retardation |
11.6 |
0.5 |
— |
— |
Source: 1994 Disability Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey (community-based users), and 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Nursing Home Component (nursing home residents).
Note: Entries in table are column percentages; for dichotomous items the reference group is not shown. Missing data are only indicated if greater than 2% of cases. ADL/IADL disability estimates of elderly community care recipients differ from estimates in Table 6, which are from the NLTCS. Beyond sampling error, the estimates differ mainly because ADL and IADL disabilities are restricted to persons with problems lasting or expected to last 3 months, while such a restriction is not applied in the NHIS-D. In addition estimates may vary because of differences in sampling frames in the two surveys. Estimates of elderly nursing home residents are not directly comparable to previously reported estimates from the NLTCS because the latter survey encompassed a broader array of institutional settings, while the MEPS sampled only nursing home residents.
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