Testing nursing home iatrogenesis

Many nursing home residents, admitted for "temporary" stays, are expected to return to the community. To test the notion of iatrogenesis, this research examined the discharge status of "temporary" residents discharged from a proprietary nursing home during the first six years of its operation. The research noted 1) the extent to which those residents did not return home and 2) reasons for their derailment. The results of the research did not support the notion of iatrogenesis. Of 419 residents, seventy-nine were expected to return to the community. Only 16 percent of those seventy-nine did not. Content analysis of histories, moreover, showed that two chose to remain, four had families who declined to fill caregiver roles, and two quickly deteriorated. Even the histories of the five who generally lost the ability to function independently did not suggest institutional life was to blame.