Table 1.
Demographic Characteristics by Preferred Care Optiona
| Demographics | Total | Preferred care option | p Value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own home family help | Own home paid help | Living with adult child | Assisted living or CCRC | Nursing home | |||
| Total | 100.0% | 29.4% | 27.7% | 6.2% | 27.8% | 8.9% | |
| Age | .76 | ||||||
| 65–74 | 51.3 | 29.7 | 26.8 | 6.2 | 29.2 | 8.1 | |
| 75–84 | 36.2 | 29.3 | 28.7 | 6.7 | 26.1 | 9.2 | |
| 85 or older | 12.5 | 28.6 | 28.5 | 4.7 | 27.2 | 11.0 | |
| Gender | .00 | ||||||
| Male | 44.8 | 32.3 | 21.6 | 6.8 | 29.0 | 10.3 | |
| Female | 55.2 | 27.1 | 32.7 | 5.6 | 26.9 | 7.7 | |
| Marital status | .05 | ||||||
| Married | 57.6 | 31.2 | 28.2 | 5.6 | 28.1 | 6.9 | |
| Widowed | 27.3 | 25.6 | 29.8 | 6.8 | 26.0 | 11.8 | |
| Other | 15.1 | 29.5 | 22.1 | 7.2 | 30.3 | 10.9 | |
| Education | .00 | ||||||
| Below HS | 19.6 | 36.0 | 21.1 | 8.4 | 18.7 | 15.8 | |
| HS | 29.2 | 29.4 | 27.9 | 6.4 | 26.2 | 10.1 | |
| More than HS | 51.2 | 26.9 | 30.2 | 5.2 | 32.2 | 5.5 | |
| Race | .00 | ||||||
| White non-Hispanic | 81.8 | 27.8 | 29.5 | 6.0 | 29.3 | 7.4 | |
| Black non-Hispanic | 8.1 | 36.1 | 22.8 | 7.1 | 20.2 | 13.8 | |
| Hispanic/other | 10.1 | 36.9 | 16.7 | 7.2 | 22.3 | 16.9 | |
| Income quartiles | |||||||
| 1st (lowest) | 21.6 | 31.7 | 25.0 | 7.3 | 23.1 | 12.9 | .01 |
| 2nd | 24.2 | 30.5 | 25.0 | 7.5 | 26.3 | 10.7 | |
| 3rd | 26.0 | 30.8 | 27.2 | 5.5 | 29.0 | 7.5 | |
| 4th (highest) | 28.2 | 25.5 | 32.5 | 4.9 | 31.7 | 5.4 | |
Note: NHATS 2012; persons aged 65 or older who were self-respondents (n = 1,783), excluding those who answered don’t know (n = 49) or refused (n = 14) to questions about care preferences and nursing home residents (n = 8). CCRC = continuing care retirement communities; HS = high school.
aBest care option for a person aged 80 years old with health problems who needs someone to help with bathing, dressing, and getting around inside.