Report cards and nursing homes.

PURPOSE We first describe which states have produced nursing home report cards; second, we compare what information is provided in these report cards; third, we identify data sources used to produce the report cards; and, finally, we examine seven factors previously shown to be associated with the usefulness of report-card information and provide several examples from current reporting efforts to illustrate how nursing home report cards could be improved. DESIGN AND METHODS We searched the Web sites for each state agency responsible for elder affairs-nursing homes. For those states identified as having a nursing home report card, we further examined the information presented. RESULTS We identified 19 states as having nursing home report cards (AZ, CO, FL, IL, IN, IO, MD, MA, MS, NV, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TX, UT, VT, and WI). The information presented in these report cards differs quite substantially across states, although the data sources for report cards do not differ substantially. How the information is presented and our evaluation of the usefulness of the information is also highly varied. IMPLICATIONS Providing nursing home report-card information may be important in helping elders and their families choose a nursing facility. With 19 states identified in our research as providing nursing home report-card information on the World Wide Web, we were surprised and encouraged at this number of initiatives. We give some insight into the kinds of information that can be found on these report cards and what steps could be taken to improve how the information is presented.

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