Improving the Quality of Long-Term Care

Among the issues confronting America is long-term care for frail, older persons, and others with disabilities that limit their ability to care for themselves. Even now, an estimated 10 million people receive some form of long-term care.Continuing to Improve the Quality of Long-Term Care takes a comprehensive look at the quality of care -- and quality of life -- in long-term care, including that provided by nursing homes, home health agencies, assisted living facilities, family members, and a variety of others. This book describes the current state of long-term care, identifying problem areas and offering recommendations for federal, state, and local decisionmakers.Who uses long-term care? How have the characteristics of this population changed over time? What pathways do people typically follow into and through long-term care? The committee provides the latest information on these and other key questions.This book explores strengths and limitations of methods to measure, oversee, and improve the quality of long-term care. It works through the difficult issues of defining and assessing quality, implementing the principles of person-centered care, setting and enforcing standards of care, strengthening the long-term care work force, paying for quality care, and expanding the knowledge base to guide organizational and individual caregivers.