2004 National Nursing Home Survey to Begin

Includes New Nursing Assistant Supplement For Immediate Release: April, 2004

Contact: NCHS/CDC Public Affairs, (301) 458-4800

The 2004 National Nursing Home Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will begin in August 2004, to collect information on this important segment of health care in America. The latest in a series of nursing home studies, the 2004 survey will include a first-ever, nationwide survey of nursing assistants, the group which provides the majority of direct care to the nation’s 1.6 million nursing home residents.

As in previous surveys conducted periodically since 1973 and most recently in 1999, the 2004 survey will obtain data on nursing homes, their residents, and staff. The survey obtains information from a nationally representative sample of nursing homes based on interviews with the administrators and staff. The survey collects data on the facilities including bed size, ownership, number of residents, certification status, services provided, and basic charges. For residents, data are obtained on demographic characteristics, functional and health status, diagnoses, services received, and source of payment.

2004 Survey Expanded and Improved

The upcoming survey has been redesigned and expanded to better meet the data needs of researchers and health care planners working to ensure that quality long-term care will be available for the nation’s growing senior population. The survey will utilize computer-assisted personal interviewing. This computerized system speeds the flow of data making it possible to release information on a timelier basis and makes it easier for respondents to participate in the survey. Another change is an increase in the current resident sample size, allowing more detailed and better information to be collected about this population.

The survey has been expanded to include new and critical topics, such as:

Medications and adverse experiences with medications
Medical, mental health and dental services provided residents End of life care and advance directives
Education, specialty credentials, and length of service for key staff
Turnover and stability of nursing staff; use of temporary/agency staff; overtime shifts worked, and benefits
Facility practices for immunizations, dining, and use of mechanical lifting devices

Nursing Assistant Supplement Added

The Nursing Assistant Supplement to the National Nursing Home Survey will provide information needed to recruit, retain and develop this essential paraprofessional long-term care workforce. The survey is designed to determine the likelihood that workers will continue in their present positions and the factors which affect those decisions, including job satisfaction, environment, training, advancement opportunities, benefits, working conditions, and personal or family demands. This first national survey of nursing assistants will be conducted as a separate telephone interview with a sample of workers who provide nursing home residents assistance with Activities of Daily Living (eating, transferring, toileting, dressing and bathing).

More Information

For more information about the National Nursing Home Survey, check the web site at the National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS). Reports and data from previous surveys are also available in publications and public use data files on the web. Findings from the surveys are analyzed and disseminated widely in a series of articles and electronic data products. To sign up for the Long-term Care listserv, to learn more about the survey, and to receive announcements when data are released, go to the NNHS website or leave a message at 301-458-4747.