Family Quality of Life Survey Results
This month A Place for Mom released the results of our Family Quality of Life Survey. They are exciting and overwhelmingly positive for our industry! You will see news outlets citing these results over the next several weeks. So far the story has been covered by:
The bottom line? We surveyed nearly 300 families and found that although the majority of seniors say they would rather live at home (if they could no longer live alone), 73 percent of their families report that the senior is better off when they move into assisted living.
In addition, 58 percent of caregivers said their own overall quality of life improved after moving their loved one into assisted living, while 28 percent said it stayed the same.
How is APFM using this internally?
These survey results provide our Senior Living Advisors with statistics to cite when working with families skeptical of senior living. The survey tells us that half of all families begin their search with a negative or lukewarm view of senior living, so we at APFM are working to turn that perception around.
If a family has delayed their search because their loved one does not want to move, Advisors can tell them they are not alone! Many other families delay their search or are hesitant because their loved one doesn’t want to move. However, we have found through surveying families in this situation that seniors are generally better off after moving into Assisted Living.
- Almost two-thirds¬†(62¬†percent) of seniors say they want to live at home, and 85¬†percent of families delay their search because either the senior doesn’t want to move, or because of negative perceptions around¬†senior living
- Almost three-fourths (73 percent) of family members of seniors who moved to assisted living say the senior’s overall quality of life improved
If the family has specific concerns about their loved one such as malnutrition or isolation, we can communicate that they are likely to see an improvement in those areas after a move.
- 73 percent of families who moved a loved one into assisted living found that the person’s nutrition improved
- 64 percent of families found that their loved one’s social well-being improved after the move
- 44 percent said their loved one’s physical health improved, while 36 percent said it stayed the same
- 47 percent said their loved one’s emotional well-being improved, while 32 percent said it stayed the same
If the family is expressing feelings of guilt or stress about the decision, we can also share with them positive outcomes caregivers see after they move a loved one into assisted living.
- 59 percent of families who moved said their relationship with that loved one improved after a move, while 29 percent said it stayed the same
- 64 percent of families who moved said they feel less stress about the senior than before
We will be sharing additional tools to help our partners use these results with their own communities. In the meantime we encourage you to follow the press coverage and share on social media!
Note: Find technical report of the survey design, methodology, and results here.