MCR&R 58:3 (September 2001)Castle / Relocation of the Elderly Relocation of the Elderly

In this article, the author reviews 78 studies addressing the relocation of the elderly. He begins by defining the four major forms of relocation and describing the trends in the cur-rent health care marketplace precipitating relocation events. Next, he reviews the major findings of studies assessing the potential negative and positive outcomes of relocation. These outcomes include changes in mortality rates, morbidity, and psychological or social changes. In addition, factors associated with successful relocation are presented. Finally, the primary contribution of this article is that the author assesses the strengths and limitations of this prior literature and combines the research he reviews in an analytic model. This model helps show some opportunities for future research in the relocation of the elderly. Relocation of the elderly from one care setting to another has been a consis-tent concern of researchers and practitioners for several decades (Borup 1983; Csank and Zweig 1980; Nypaver, Titus, and Brugler 1996; Rosswurm 1983; Zweig and Csank 1975). This concern stems from the potential hazards of relocation: mortality, physiological decline, psychological distress, and de-pression (Killian 1970; Markus et al. 1972). These hazards are clearly opera-tionalized in the terms often used to describe the effects of relocation: transfer trauma, relocation stress, admission stress, relocation shock, and transplanta