Many
people identify long-term care with nursing homes, the predominant
provider of long-term care in the United States is the family.
The
elderly express strong preferences for remaining in their own
homes as long as possible and for being cared for by relatives.
Only about 21 percent of the disabled elderly were in nursing
homes in 1985. The rest were in the community, mostly in their
own homes. Those with more severe disabilities were more likely
to be in institutions, but even among the severely disabled considerably
less than half were in nursing homes.

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