Results show half of residents are managing multiple chronic health conditions and two thirds need assistance with activities of daily living
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report confirms what senior living professionals already know—residents in assisted living have multiple chronic conditions requiring significant care. Findings from the 2022 National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study found that 55% of residents have two or three common chronic conditions, while nearly two-thirds need assistance with three to six activities of daily living (ADL).
More than half of residents (55%) are managing multiple chronic conditions, including high blood pressure, Alzheimer's, and heart disease. Other chronic conditions included depression (26%), arthritis (18%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16%), diabetes (16%), osteoporosis (12%), stroke (7%) and cancer (6%).
In 2022, most residential care community residents were female, white, and age 85 and older, with 17% receiving Medicaid benefits. Less than one in five lived with just one common chronic health condition (19%) or four to ten chronic conditions (18%).
These findings underestimate the number of conditions according to a 2022 study from NORC at the University of Chicago, which found that the average assisted living resident manages as many as 14 chronic health conditions.
Nearly two-thirds of the surveyed residents, 62%, needed help with three to six different activities of daily living (ADLs). Just over a quarter, 26%, needed help with one or two ADLs; while another 12% needed help with no ADLs. Among residents who needed help with ADLs, three-quarters needed assistance with bathing, 71% required help with walking and 60% needed assistance with getting dressed.
Residential care communities had to be state regulated to provide room and board with at least two meals a day, around the-clock on-site supervision, and help with personal care such as bathing and dressing or with health-related services such as medication management.
The results are not surprising as most residents move to assisted living in their mid-80s. The need for care is often a primary catalyst for the move. The report underscores the importance of planning and resource allocation to meet the needs of this growing segment of the population. The challenge of having enough staff to provide the needed care will be significant.
For more details, you can view the full CDC report.
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