Factors associated with perceived effectiveness of local long-term care ombudsman programs in New York and California.
OBJECTIVE
Long-term care (LTC) ombudsman advocate for the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents in LTC facilities. This article examines factors associated with self-rated effectiveness of local LTC Ombudsman Programs (LTCOPs) in California and New York across the five statutorily mandated activities under the Older Americans Act: complaint investigation, resident/family education, community education, monitoring laws, and policy advocacy.


METHODS
Data were collected from telephone interviews with coordinators of local LTCOPs in California and New York and from the National Ombudsman Reporting System. Analyses examined factors associated with effectiveness: program size, resource adequacy, organizational autonomy, interorganizational relationships, and program outputs.


RESULTS
Resource and autonomy measures are significantly associated with different effectiveness measures in each state. Staff full-time equivalencies and coordinator hours per week in New York and the quality of training in California are significantly associated with effectiveness in most mandated activities.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings highlight variability within and between the local LTCOPs in California and New York.
Estes
Carroll L
CL
Institute for Health & Aging, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 340, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA. Carroll.Estes@ucsf.edu
Lohrer
Steven P
SP
Goldberg
Sheryl
S
Grossman
Brian R
BR
Nelson
Milena
M
Koren
Mary Jane
MJ
Hollister
Brooke
B
D002140:California; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D009518:New York; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000592:standards; D012944:Social Support; D013219:State Government