Long-Term Care: A Survey of South Dakota AARP Members

With the anticipated growth of South Dakota’s age 65+ population expected to place additional demands on long-term care (LTC) services, the state’s residents are beginning to raise questions about the range of such services available in their communities, how to locate them, and what they cost.

This survey explores AARP South Dakota members’ opinions about LTC access, quality and cost, and how much of a priority dealing with the latter should be for the state. Of the 1,014 randomly selected South Dakota AARP members responding to this mail survey…

• 65 percent say, compared to other problems in South Dakota, addressing LTC costs should be a top or high priority for the state today.
  
• 42 percent would prefer to have care provided in a residential facility, such as assisted living, where housing, food, and personal care such as help with bathing and dressing are provided for residents, if they or a family member needed them.
  
• 63 percent say is it extremely or very important to be able to receive LTC services at home for as long as possible, even if it means they would have to contribute more to the cost of the care.
  
• 74 percent say it should be a top or high priority for AARP South Dakota to work on ensuring the availability of a broad range of LTC services throughout the state.

The mail survey was conducted from September 6 through October 11, 2005. Further information may be obtained by contacting Dr. Silberman, the report’s author, at 202-434-6339. (32 pages)