Indicators of social risk for poor adjustment to nursing home placement

In an attempt to identify indicators of risk for psychosocial maladjustment in new nursing home residents, we evaluated the first-year course of 88 new nursing home residents. These 88 study patients constituted all the new residents admitted in 1987 to the Kingsbridge Center of the Jewish Home and Hospital for Aged, Bronx, NY, and assigned to the health-related floors (indicating less serious impairments). Social work intake and progress notes were abstracted to evaluate their utility in identifying indicators of risk for medical and psychosocial maladjustment among these patients. Patients admitted from home fared worse (had more medical visits) than those admitted from hospitals. Lack of additional findings suggests that more uniform and structured intake and progress assessments be made.