Improving practice through research in and about assisted living: implications for a research agenda.

This Special Issue focuses on generating knowledge about assisted living (AL) for older people— what has been learned so far, the credibility of that information, and future directions for research. After a short development period in the 1990s, AL became an established long-term care option for seniors. The growth was fueled by the initiatives of entrepreneurs in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors and consumer preferences. Federal and state policymakers and planners, advocates, and researchers got involved later with their questions, hopes, and concerns. Although some states developed coverage for the service component of AL under Medicaid or Medicaid waivers, AL largely is a private-pay phenomenon, which limits the availability of relevant data for research. Compared to research on nursing homes, AL research remains logistically and conceptually more difficult. Consider these issues: