The most common predictors of nursing home admission are cognitive and behavioral impairments often times caused by dementia, being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and depression. All these are making the elderly dependent on other people to cope with their daily needs. They also exhibit behavioral symptoms that need further monitoring.

Next to physical and cognitive condition of the elderly, other important predictors of nursing home admission involve the attitude of their families and caregivers towards their impairments. Caregivers who experience emotional stress while taking care of the elderly will more likely decide on institutionalizing their relative. More often than not, they feel that they are trapped in the responsibility of taking care of the elderly which prods them to admit their relative to a nursing home.

Although demographic profile such as financial status, age, and ethnicity are probable predictors of nursing home admission, they do not consistently foretell such more than the preceding factors do. Another probable predictor of nursing home admission is the quality of nursing home facilities and services in their area.

Institutionalizing geriatric patients became the trend in this fast changing world. People often euphemize the fact that the elderly are a liability you can’t dispose. In a society where the idea of kinship is strong and family, being a significant institution makes up its mores, the predictors of nursing home admission depend greatly on other factors such as the need for constant monitoring of the medical condition of the elderly. Otherwise, taking care of the elderly can become a burden to individuals who have to make a living for the younger generations.

Other predictors of nursing home admission involve the functionality of the elderly, older age, length of hospital stay, and socioeconomic status. The intervention of social workers and health experts who advice for institutionalizing the geriatric patient also encourages the relatives of the elderly to seek help from a nursing home facility.