The Gerontologist Patterns of Service Use in a Continuing Care Retirement Community

The authors analyzed the use of 16 onsite services reported by 91 residents of a new continuing care retirement community (CCRC). The most frequently used services appear to be those of convenience to the residents, including an onsite phar-macy, insurance billing, and a bank, as well as health and fit-ness services. Perceived health and multiple illnesses were associated with greater use of health and auxiliary health/fit-ness services, whereas age and marital status were not. In ad-dition, respondent reports of spouse service use predicted respondent service use, whereas measures of social connect-edness and friendship did not. Community service use before relocation to the CCRC was predictive of total CCRC service use only in unmarried respondents, demonstrating the com-plex nature of the relationship between informal support and the use of formal services. The behavioral model appears to be applicable to the study of CCRCs