Center for Excellence in Assisted Living CEAL@UNC

Advancing the well-being of the people who live and work in assisted living through research, practice, and policy.

The Gerontologist

Feasibility of the Palliative Care Education in Assisted Living Intervention for Dementia Care Providers: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Feb 1, 2023
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia are a major cause of death in the United States. While effective interventions have been developed to deliver palliative care to nursing home residents with ADRD, little work has identified effective interventions to reach assisted living (AL) residents with dementia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: 118 AL residents […]

Feasibility of the Palliative Care Education in Assisted Living Intervention for Dementia Care Providers: A Cluster Randomized Trial

by Lea Efird-Green

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia are a major cause of death in the United States. While effective interventions have been developed to deliver palliative care to nursing home residents with ADRD, little work has identified effective interventions to reach assisted living (AL) residents with dementia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: 118 AL residents […]

Survey Deficiencies as Quality Indicators in Oregon Assisted Living Communities

Oct 1, 2022
Background and Objectives License inspection data have commonly been used as a quality measure for nursing homes but have not yet been used to assess the quality of assisted living/residential care (AL/RC) communities. Drawing on resource dependency theory, we test the hypothesis that structural and environmental characteristics influence AL/RC quality as measured by deficiency citations […]

Survey Deficiencies as Quality Indicators in Oregon Assisted Living Communities

by Lea Efird-Green

Background and Objectives License inspection data have commonly been used as a quality measure for nursing homes but have not yet been used to assess the quality of assisted living/residential care (AL/RC) communities. Drawing on resource dependency theory, we test the hypothesis that structural and environmental characteristics influence AL/RC quality as measured by deficiency citations […]

“What Keeps Me Awake at Night”: Assisted Living Administrator Responses to COVID-19

Mar 1, 2022
Background and Objectives Assisted living (AL) constitutes an important sector of residential long-term care, yet there has been limited research about the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in this setting. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of the early stages of the pandemic (February–August 2020) from AL administrators’ perspectives. Research […]

“What Keeps Me Awake at Night”: Assisted Living Administrator Responses to COVID-19

by Lea Efird-Green

Background and Objectives Assisted living (AL) constitutes an important sector of residential long-term care, yet there has been limited research about the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in this setting. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of the early stages of the pandemic (February–August 2020) from AL administrators’ perspectives. Research […]

Factors Associated With Assisted Living Facility Closure

Mar 1, 2022
Background and Objectives Assisted living facilities (ALFs) have experienced rapid growth in the past few decades. The expansion in the number of ALFs may cause markets to become oversaturated, and a greater risk of unprofitable ALFs to close. However, no studies have investigated ALF closure. This study adapted a model developed for the nursing home […]

Factors Associated With Assisted Living Facility Closure

by Lea Efird-Green

Background and Objectives Assisted living facilities (ALFs) have experienced rapid growth in the past few decades. The expansion in the number of ALFs may cause markets to become oversaturated, and a greater risk of unprofitable ALFs to close. However, no studies have investigated ALF closure. This study adapted a model developed for the nursing home […]

Staff Reports of Behavioral Expressions of Persons with Dementia in 250 Assisted Living Communities 

Mar 1, 2022
Background and Objectives Assisted living (AL) residents with dementia commonly exhibit behavioral expressions (BEs), yet no study has examined how AL staff perceive and respond to BEs in terms of the “ABC” model of antecedents, behaviors, and consequences, or how perceptions relate to organizational characteristics. Understanding staff perceptions may inform interventions. Research Design and Methods […]

Staff Reports of Behavioral Expressions of Persons with Dementia in 250 Assisted Living Communities 

by Lea Efird-Green

Background and Objectives Assisted living (AL) residents with dementia commonly exhibit behavioral expressions (BEs), yet no study has examined how AL staff perceive and respond to BEs in terms of the “ABC” model of antecedents, behaviors, and consequences, or how perceptions relate to organizational characteristics. Understanding staff perceptions may inform interventions. Research Design and Methods […]

Assisted Living Residents With Dementia: Being Out in the World and Negotiating Connections

Mar 1, 2022
Background and Objectives Persons living with dementia, including long-term care residents, and their care partners emphasize the importance of meaningful engagement and stress the need for activity and opportunities to go outdoors or offsite. Yet, little is known about getting out in this population. Here, our objectives are to (a) identify residents’ opportunities for, and […]

Assisted Living Residents With Dementia: Being Out in the World and Negotiating Connections

by Lea Efird-Green

Background and Objectives Persons living with dementia, including long-term care residents, and their care partners emphasize the importance of meaningful engagement and stress the need for activity and opportunities to go outdoors or offsite. Yet, little is known about getting out in this population. Here, our objectives are to (a) identify residents’ opportunities for, and […]