Abstract
With the impending “gray wave” in the United States of America, which is predicted to increase the already staggering amount of 1.3 million elderly residents in nursing homes, scrutiny of nursing home care is especially important to consider (U. S. Census Bureau, 2018). There are discrepancies between the residents living in these nursing homes in terms of how satisfied they are with living in that community and environment. Factors such as amount of physical health, social connections, unmet needs, and activity participation affect quality of life and cognition in the nursing home population. Therefore, we examined which factors are most important for determining quality of life and cognition in a nursing home. To test this idea, we utilized data from the longitudinal National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), which has an abundance of information on elderly populations, including those in nursing homes. The three research questions for the current study were as follows: First was what baseline, pre-nursing home, factors of physical health, participation in activities, social connectedness, and unmet needs predict nursing home outcomes of cognition and quality of life. Second was what post-nursing home factors of physical health, participation in activities, social connectedness, and unmet needs predict nursing home outcomes of cognition and quality of life. Third was do these factors significantly differ in their predictive strength based on before or after living within a nursing home. I hypothesized that social connectedness and activity participation will be more significant predictors for quality of life while living in a nursing home, than it is prior to being in that location. I also hypothesize that physical health and unmet needs before movement into a nursing home will be a more significant predictor for quality of life and cognition while living in a nursing home than it is after being in that location. It was found that pre-nursing home activity participation can predict the eventual post-nursing home outcome of cognition. Additionally, it was found that social connectedness within the nursing home is able to significantly predict quality of life. These results have implications for ways in which elderly individuals can age with a greater quality of life and cognition while in nursing homes through remaining engaged in meaningful activities and establishing a strong social network while living in a nursing home. Nursing home staff should focus on making the environment conducive to forming social connections and creating a sense of community in order to provide the best life for residents.