Nursing Home Room Changes: Toward a Decision-Making Model

: Although nursing home relocation has been extensively studied, very little research has investigated the more commonly occurring phenomenon of room changes within nursing homes. Room changes were monitored in four nursing homes over a one-year period. Participant observation; repeated interviews with residents, family members and nursing home staff; and event analyses were used in developing detailed case studies of the room change decision-making process. A model of the room change process and factors influencing this process is offered, involving five distinctive phases--precursors, initiation, decision, action, and outcomes.