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A survey commissioned by A Place for Mom found that 54% of older adults said nursing homes meet practical needs, while 34% said facilities meet personal needs such as privacy and independence. Respondents also identified difficulty judging whether a community is trustworthy, and favored learning about falls technology without cameras over AI companionship.
A survey commissioned by senior-care referral platform A Place for Mom found that older adults were more likely to say nursing homes meet practical needs than personal ones: 54% said facilities met practical needs, compared with 34% who said they met needs such as privacy and independence. The findings point to a gap operators may need to address as prospective residents weigh care and safety against control over daily life.
The survey covered 1,391 adults ages 60 to 90. A Place for Mom commissioned it, and Morning Light Strategy conducted it in August. The company’s report says respondents want care that accommodates their choices, routines and relationships, rather than meeting care requirements alone.
Respondents named practical benefits of nursing-home living: 37% cited maintenance-free living, while 30% valued having help available if their needs changed. Another 26% identified more opportunities to socialize and make friends. At the same time, 42% viewed reduced privacy as a major disadvantage, 36% cited giving up control over daily life, and 35% each pointed to leaving their home and neighborhood or losing independence.
The report also found that 56% said it was difficult to find a trustworthy community. Just 22% said they were very confident that staff in a community were well trained. Respondents said inspection and licensing records, transparent pricing, staff credentials, tours, and private conversations with current residents or their families could help build trust.
Privacy and Choice Shape Care Decisions
The results suggest that older adults judge long-term care by more than whether a facility can provide meals, safety and assistance. Privacy, independence and control over routines are also part of how prospective residents assess whether a setting will suit them. For nursing-home operators, the findings highlight the importance of explaining how residents can make everyday choices and maintain relationships, not just describing services.
For families, the figures offer practical topics to raise when comparing facilities: how schedules work, whether residents can choose meals and activities, how visitors are accommodated, and what happens when care needs change. These are survey responses, not a direct assessment of facility performance, but they show which issues respondents say matter to them.
The survey also reports a preference for some forms of care technology over others. Thirty-eight percent wanted to learn more about fall-prevention, detection and response technology without a camera; 34% showed similar interest in a smartphone-powered personalized healthy-aging program. Twenty-nine percent said an AI companion might help, while 46% were slightly interested or not interested at all in that technology.
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Interest in Moving Often Comes Later
Many respondents did not expect to move into a nursing home soon. Only 7% said they might need to move within two years. Thirty-five percent said they would consider a move only if circumstances changed unexpectedly, 18% did not know when they might consider care, and 10% said a move would be a last resort.
That timing may make early family conversations useful, according to the report. A Place for Mom said discussions can move beyond choosing a general care setting and focus on what kind of support an older adult wants, including preferences about privacy, routines, visitors, meals and activities. The company says its platform includes 500,000 family reviews of senior-living communities and home-care agencies; that figure describes the platform, not the survey sample.
Firsthand experience also featured in respondents’ views. Fifty-four percent said knowing someone who lived in a facility influenced their opinions, while 36% said family and friends affected their decision-making. About 45% had visited a nursing home, and 65% had held an in-depth conversation about someone else’s experience. Among those who had such conversations, 81% said the experience they heard about met or exceeded expectations.
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Survey Findings Have Limits
The report summarizes respondents’ perceptions and preferences; the supplied material does not provide details about the survey’s sampling method, margin of error, or whether the results represent older adults nationally. The findings do not independently measure care quality or establish how facilities perform on privacy and resident choice.
It is also unclear from the report whether responses differed by health status, current living arrangement, income or prior experience with nursing-home care. The findings identify concerns and preferences but do not show how many facilities currently offer particular privacy protections, flexible routines or technology options.
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Questions for Families and Operators
The report does not announce a policy change or a specific follow-up study. Its immediate implication is for families to ask facilities direct questions and seek information they can verify, including inspection records, pricing, staff qualifications and opportunities to speak privately with residents or relatives.
Operators can use the reported preferences to explain how residents retain choice, keep familiar routines and stay connected, while describing what support is available as needs change. Whether facilities act on the findings, and whether that leads to measurable changes in resident experience, remains unknown.
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Key Questions
What did the survey find about practical and personal needs?
Fifty-four percent of respondents said nursing homes met practical needs, while 34% said facilities met personal needs such as privacy and independence.
Who conducted the survey, and who took part?
A Place for Mom commissioned the survey, and Morning Light Strategy conducted it in August. It included 1,391 adults ages 60 to 90.
What concerns did respondents raise about nursing homes?
Reduced privacy was a major disadvantage for 42% of respondents. Others cited giving up control over daily life, losing independence, and leaving home and their neighborhood.
What information could help families judge a facility?
Respondents pointed to inspection and licensing records, transparent pricing, staff credentials, tours, and private conversations with current residents or their families as trust-building information.
Which care technologies attracted interest?
Thirty-eight percent wanted to learn more about fall-prevention, detection and response technology without a camera. Interest was lower for AI companionship: 29% said it might help, while 46% were slightly interested or not interested at all.
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