Table 10. Characteristics of Long-term Care (LTC) Users by Age and Setting, 1994 and 1996

Characteristics Community Nursing Home
  Aged 18-64 Aged 65 & Older Aged 18-64 Aged 65 & Older
Population (thousands) 3,363
(46.7%)		 3,823
(53.3%)		 138
(8.8%)		 1,425
(91.2%)
Mean Age (years) 44.5 79.1 51.0 84.6

Gender
Female
Male

57.6
42.4		 67.3
32.7		 51.0
49.0		 73.9
26.1

Race
White
Black
Other

 77.0
19.0
4.0		 86.4
11.6
2.0		 76.1
19.2
4.7		 89.9
7.9
2.2

Marital Status
Married
Never married
Widowed
Divorced/separated

 47.3
29.2
4.8
18.4		 37.2
4.2
51.8
6.6		 16.4
27.0
10.3
46.3		 16.7
11.3
64.5
7.5

Education
Less than 12 years
12 years
Greater than 12 years
Missing

 34.3
39.4
23.5
2.7
 51.5
27.5
17.4
3.7
 42.9
23.8
16.9
16.4
 43.6
18.9
15.6
21.9

Employment (last 2 weeks)
Working
Not in labor force
Other

 18.7
75.5
5.8		 1.1
98.2
0.8		 —
—
—		 —
—
—
Poverty 26.5 14.7 — —

Level of IADL/ADL Disability
IADL only
1-2 ADLs
3-6 ADLs

 55.9
26.7
17.4		 49.4
29.0
21.7		 7.7
14.5
75.5		 2.1
13.9
83.2

Functional Limitations
Lower body only
Upper body only
Lower and upper body
Neither

 33.3
1.6
38.1
26.2 		47.7
0.9
40.3
10.2		 —
—
—
—		 —
—
—
—
Use Mobility Equipment 24.9 52.9 13.0 27.0
Use Wheelchair 12.7 19.9 65.2 66.8
Problems with Dizziness 14.8 12.6 — —
Difficulty Seeing 17.4 29.2 30.2 39.5
Difficulty Hearing 11.3 30.1 12.8 37.5
Difficulty Communicating 11.6 8.5 16.6 12.1
Difficulty Understanding Others 9.8 12.2 12.0 9.8
Mental Retardation 11.6 0.5 — —

Source: 1994 Disability Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey (community-based users), and 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Nursing Home Component (nursing home residents).

Note: Entries in table are column percentages; for dichotomous items the reference group is not shown. Missing data are only indicated if greater than 2% of cases. ADL/IADL disability estimates of elderly community care recipients differ from estimates in Table 6, which are from the NLTCS. Beyond sampling error, the estimates differ mainly because ADL and IADL disabilities are restricted to persons with problems lasting or expected to last 3 months, while such a restriction is not applied in the NHIS-D. In addition estimates may vary because of differences in sampling frames in the two surveys. Estimates of elderly nursing home residents are not directly comparable to previously reported estimates from the NLTCS because the latter survey encompassed a broader array of institutional settings, while the MEPS sampled only nursing home residents.

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