Younger Residents in Long-Term Care Find Meaning in Relationships, Engagement

Younger adults make up approximately 15% of the post-acute and long-term care patient population. They are more likely to be men and to have Medicaid as the primary payer (J Gerontol Nurs 2009;35:22-31). More younger adults in PALTC represent those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, individuals with neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Huntington’s disease, and those with serious mental illness. They are also more likely than their older counterparts to have experienced a traumatic injury that has resulted in profound loss of physical function due to hemiplegia or quadriplegia or loss of cognitive function and behavioral changes due to traumatic brain injury.