Relocation to a new environment: decisional control and the move to a nursing home

Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to study the effect of deciding to move and wanting to move to a nursing home on the initial reactions of 502 elderly residents to their new environment. Data used in the analysis were taken from the Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Project in which residents were interviewed within one month of admission. Three scales were used to measure initial reaction: participation in nursing home activities, satisfaction with services, and social interaction. Covariates used to control for differences between groups were age, activities of daily living score, cognitive score, and affective status score. Bivariate relationships were found between the independent variables, deciding to move and wanting to move, and two measures, satisfaction with services and participation in nursing home activities. Multivariate analysis suggests that the two variables independently influence satisfaction and participation. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.