Public's Perceived Need for Adult Day Care versus Actual Use

Abstract

The public's knowledge of a perceived need for adult day care is presented. Information was obtained from a stratified, random sample of 1,913 households from a geographical area representing approximately one million people or 374,365 households. 28% of respondents met the ADL and care need criteria and 46% of respondents knew about adult day care. From these factors it is estimated that 1.25% of all households would have an adult member who would need and use adult day care. Survey results are then compared with actual use of adult day care for the same geographical area and time period. Utilization experience is much lower than perceived need. The paper analyzes the effect of lack of knowledge and limited transportation on under-utilization.