The illusory home, or the 24 percent fallacy.
Although many elderly people live for years in nursing homes, death certificates routinely obliterate nursing home residence. Data gathered from records of one proprietary nursing home show that of 128 residents, from 45 percent to 66 percent could be classified as "permanent," depending on the definition. Nevertheless, the death certificates for those 128 residents list the nursing home as the residence for only 24 percent. This article explores that bias.
Retsinas
J
J
Department of Family Medicine, Brown University, Memorial Hospital, Pawtucket, RI 02860.
Thompson
L
L
Garrity
P
P
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D003644:Death Certificates; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014481:United States