Assisted living residences have assumed a prominent role in the long-term care of people with dementia. The key question is whether these residences provide suitable care to the 42 percent of their residents who have moderate or severe cognitive impairment, according to scores on a validated measure (not all of whom were recognized by staff members to have dementia). Other studies have shown that compared to nursing homes, assisted living residences generally do not have different outcomes except when medical care is needed, in which case a nursing home is the preferred alternative to an assisted living residence.23
Can we infer that 48% do not have moderate or severe cognitive impairment?
Sloane PD, Zimmerman S, Gruber- Baldini AL, Hebel JR, Magaziner J, Konrad TR. Health and functional outcomes and health care utilization of persons with dementia in resi- dential care and assisted living facilities: comparisons with nursing homes. Gerontologist. 2005;45(1): 124–32.
