ABSTRACT
Since 1975 the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program has grown and developed under the Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965. With the passage of the Older Americans Act Amendments of 1992, this program was combined with other advocacy functions and placed in Title VII--Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection Activities. This article provides a historical overview of the policy, programmatic, and research issues that surround OAA and explains the activities of ombudsmen in their local communities and the roles many social workers perform under the auspices of long-term care ombudsman programs.
Subject(s)
Health Services for the Aged/legislation & jurisprudence , Long-Term Care/legislation & jurisprudence , Patient Advocacy/legislation & jurisprudence , Aged , Health Services for the Aged/history , Health Services for the Aged/organization & administration , History, 20th Century , Homes for the Aged/legislation & jurisprudence , Humans , Long-Term Care/organization & administration , Nursing Homes/legislation & jurisprudence , Social Work , United StatesSubject(s)
Caregivers , Activities of Daily Living , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
The public's knowledge of a perceived need for adult day care is presented. Information was obtained from a stratified, random sample of 1,913 households from a geographical area representing approximately one million people or 374,365 households. 28% of respondents met the ADL and care need criteria and 46% of respondents knew about adult day care. From these factors it is estimated that 1.25% of all households would have an adult member who would need and use adult day care. Survey results are then compared with actual use of adult day care for the same geographical area and time period. Utilization experience is much lower than perceived need. The paper analyzes the effect of lack of knowledge and limited transportation on under-utilization.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , Day Care, Medical/statistics & numerical data , Health Services Needs and Demand/statistics & numerical data , Activities of Daily Living , Adult , Aged , Data Collection , Female , Home Nursing/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Indiana , Kentucky , Male , Middle Aged , Small-Area Analysis , Urban HealthABSTRACT
Using paid staff and/or volunteers, long-term care ombudsman programs are charged with resolving complaints and solving problems that affect elderly persons in a variety of long-term care settings. This paper reports the results of a content analysis of annual ombudsman program reports sent to the Administration on Aging from 49 states in 1990. We found substantial variation in the documented information at both state and local levels and recommend revising the reporting system.
