Transforming Long-Term Care Toward Consumer Goals: Shifting the Policy Debate and Stimulating Change

Award Year: 1998	Investigator: Rosalie Kane	Budget: $249,936	Categories: Long-Term Care
Abstract: Dr. Kane's work is built on the premise that long-term care (LTC) for older people is deeply flawed and that policies and programs in the U.S. have largely failed to meet patients' needs without stifling their spirits. This project develops and disseminates a vision for significant change in the nature of LTC for older people and designs, tests, and shares a strategy to facilitate that change. Among the problems examined are: the disproportionate public investment in nursing homes, regulatory and structural barriers that limit options for patients with substantial care needs; dysfunctional splits between medical programs and social programs for the elderly; the over-emphasis among policymakers, providers, and some advocates on safety and protection; and aversion to risk. Based on information obtained from literature and program reviews, extensive interviews with major constituencies, site visits, and case studies, Dr. Kane will devise new policy options that may require a major shift in public, professional, and policymaker perceptions and attitudes.