The Influence of Community Context on the Preferences of Older Adults for Entering a Nursing Home

Previous research has established that rural elders are more likely to enter a nursing home than elders living in suburban and urban areas. This research examined preferences for long-term care alternatives using a telephone survey of community-dwelling elders (age 65+). In contrast to admission patterns, urban elders were more likely to prefer nursing home care if unable to live independently. This difference persisted in multinomial logit models that included other predictors of nursing home use. Thus, rural elders may be more likely to experience discrepancies between their preferred mode of long-term care and the actual outcomes that they may ultimately experience.