Challenges in nursing home care: A research agenda. The Gerontologist, 43(Special Issue II

Nursing home residents, mostly frail and near the end of their lives, are housed in a health care sector whose condition has been deemed in crisis by both the popular media and the federal government (Health Care Financing Administration [HCFA], 2000a, 2000b). Although the percentage of aged Americans residing in nursing homes has declined slightly in recent years, rapid aging of the population and especially the growth of the population 85 years and older, means that demand for nursing home care will likely increase in the future. On March 20–21, 2002, a conference entitled ‘‘Challenges in Nursing Home Care’ ’ was held at Florida State University and sponsored by a Nationa