Older adults who live in senior housing communities live longer, receive more home health services and benefit from greater rehabilitative and preventive care in the two years following move-in than those who do not, according to research conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. 

Researchers compared older adults who moved into senior housing communities in 2017 and resided there for two years or until their death to a similar group of older adults who remained living in the greater community. They found that, on average, older adults who move into senior housing:

• Live  more than one week longer than older adults who live in the community and have a lower mortality rate;
• Receive 10 more days of home health care services than older adults who live in the community;
• Obtain four more days of preventive and rehabilitative services at home than older adults who live in the community; and
• Spend three fewer days on antipsychotics  than older adults who live in the community.

However, older adults who moved into senior housing communities spend roughly the same number of days away from home to receive high-acuity care as older adults who live in the community.

Researchers also looked at variation across different types of private-pay senior housing communities, including continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), independent living communities (IL), assisted living communities (AL) and memory care communities (MC). 

• Notably, residents in the top 25% of communities live 70 days longer than those in the bottom 25% of communities;
• CCRC residents live almost two weeks longer than older adults in the community; and
• Senior housing residents in the top 25% of communities receive greater than 40 more days of home health care than their peers in the bottom 25% of communities. 

“While this research shows us the overall value of housing and care, it also shows there is more to learn from the communities that are consistently among the top performers," said Lisa McCracken, head of research and analytics at the National Investment Center for Seniors. "Understanding those best practices will ultimately lead to improved overall health and well-being of all residents who call these settings home.”

To download the full report, An analysis of longevity among senior housing residents, click here