Handling Guilt When Moving Loved One to Assisted Living Versus Nursing Home

Just 5% said they wanted to be cared for in an assisted living community, and only about 13% actually moved into a community.

McKnight’s Senior Living’s recent article entitled “Family feels less guilt when loved one moves to assisted living versus nursing home: study” says that a family that moved an older adult into assisted living reported having greater feelings of guilt related to that move due to limits in their ability to provide assistance (35%) compared with providing care at home (22%), moving an older adult into a caregiver’s home (15%), or moving an older adult to an adult day facility (9%). However, the feelings of guilt were more for families with loved ones that moved into nursing homes(40%).

The pandemic increased the belief in the importance of early planning. About a third (29%) of respondents in 2021 said they believed in long-term care insurance, compared with 15% in 2018. However, the number of people who actually bought long-term care insurance hasn’t changed significantly (14% as in 2018). The study points out that insurance impacts where care is delivered. Owners of long-term care insurance (25%) were significantly more likely than non-owners (11%) to receive care in an assisted living community, where, researchers said, residents may have more space and better accommodations than what typically is provided in nursing homes.

Compared with 2018, family caregivers were more likely to use professionals when looking for support and knowledge about caregiving options. This included social workers (23% of respondents said they used them in 2021; compared to just 18% in 2018), financial professionals (20% from 17%), and attorneys or elder law specialists (11% up from 7%). The primary “helpful” resources for family caregivers in 2021 were television programs (70%), internet-based social networks (68%), attorneys or elder law specialists (66%), financial advisers (65%) and nonprofit groups (61%).

However, the average time families spent researching professional caregivers dropped from 7.6 hours in 2018 to 6.8 hours in 2021. Overall, the study found longer lifespans and more demand for complex care are complicating caregiving. Care needs are more severe and longer lasting compared with 2018 study results, the researchers found.

According to the most recent research, about half (49%) of care recipients need assistance with all activities of daily living. That’s an increase from 39% in 2018. And the average duration of care needed rose from 3 years to 3½ years.

Seniors also have more age-related limitations (47% had such limitations in 2021, up from 44% in 2018), cognitive impairments (32%, up from 26%) and accidents requiring rehabilitation (23%, up from 21%).

Reference: McKnight’s Senior Living (Nov. 2, 2021) “Family feels less guilt when loved one moves to assisted living versus nursing home: study”