Nursing Home Component data files are not available for public use, but researchers with approved projects can access the files at the AHRQ Data Center.
This data file provide information on a nationally representative sample of nursing homes and current residents as of January 1, 1996 within those nursing homes.
The first file consists of data obtained in Round 1 from the nursing home facilities and contains variables pertaining to characteristics of the facilities including detailed information on the facility's structure (e.g., part of a retirement center or hospital), number of beds by licensing and certification categories, ownership, number of residents, special care units by type and size, and staffing (n=952 nursing homes).
The second file is a person-level file that contains point-in-time measures obtained during Round 1. Persons sampled as January 1, 1996 residents and classified as eligible and responding are included (n=3,747 residents). Data items include demographics, health status, insurance coverage, and medical conditions as reported by facility sources. The person-level file can be linked to the facility-level file in order to make person-specific estimates while controlling for facility-level characteristics (however, it is not possible to make facility-level estimates while controlling for person characteristics given the sample design of MEPS NHC).
The following statistics were derived from these data:
Almost 66% of U.S. nursing homes in 1996 were operated for-profit.
Over 80% of nursing home residents needed help with 3 or more activities of daily living.
Almost half of all nursing home residents have some form of dementia. Readme fileUpdate notes