Residential transitions from nursing homes for adults with cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE: The impact of moving out of nursing homes into community-based settings for adults with cerebral palsy was assessed by comparing the health and community functioning of movers and non-movers at time 1 and 3 years later at time 2.

SUBJECTS: The sample included 83 non-movers and 28 movers age 30 years and older who initially were living in nursing homes. The majority of residents had severe to profound mental retardation. The movers transferred to 15 community-based settings between 1 and 3 years (mean of 2 years) prior to the time 2 assessment. Assessments of residents at baseline and at follow-up included health measures (health status, health limits, mobility limits, days hospitalized and depression) and community functioning measures (adaptive functioning, maladaptive behaviour, community inclusion, day programme hours and monthly wages).

RESULTS

Findings indicated that movers showed benefits in terms of improved health and community functioning. For movers, health status, mobility limitations, and community inclusion improved, while there were no significant changes for non-movers. This research corroborates previous research on the effects of deinstitutionalization and expands its implications to a group with severe disabilities.