Access provided by CONRICYT-eBooks. Download reference work entry PDF
Synonyms
Domiciliary care; Residential care
Definition
Assisted living is a care arrangement that provides intermittent supervision and instrumental support to individuals unable to live independently but not requiring the level of care provided in conventional nursing facilities.
Current Knowledge
Assisted living arrangements may take place in structured assisted living facilities, small group homes, or an individual’s own home or the home of a family member. These arrangements have as their goal the preservation of a degree of autonomy and privacy at home or in a home-like setting. When sited in one’s home, assistance may be provided by a combination of paid caregivers, family members, and other paid or unpaid assistants to help with housekeeping, laundry, cooking, and transportation. Assistance provided may include supervision for safety, medication management, meal preparation, and accompaniment and assistance during community-based activities. Assisted living facilities may also offer social activities and specialized services for individuals with cognitive impairment. There is a growing interest in using technology to cost-effectively provide “ambient” assistance to older adults and people with disabilities both in formal assisted living settings and in homes. Basic Activities of Daily Living (BADL) such as hands-on bathing, dressing, and feeding usually are not considered a part of an assisted living arrangement as the consistent need for such basic care is often seen as an indication that a traditional nursing facility or a home-based parallel thereof is the more appropriate level of care. Assisted living typically is not covered by private health insurance or Medicare, and access to such care may be limited by an individual’s finances.
Although there has been increased scholarly attention to assisted living in recent years, this work includes topics as disparate as end-of-life care and social networking in assisted living settings speaks to the continued need for well-articulated, shared definitions for discussing these care arrangements.
See Also
References and Readings
Stone, R. I., & Reinhard, S. C. (2007). The place of assisted living in long-term care and related service systems. Gerontologist, 47(Spec No. 3), 23–32.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Behel, J. (2018). Assisted Living. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_387
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_387
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences