We will begin collecting data for the 2019 National Nursing Home Social Services Study in March.

We hope to have all the data collected by April 15th.

Here's a quick video from the study director, explaining the study.

Purpose of the study?

To learn about nursing home (NH) social services from the experts, social services directors. We want to develop an understanding of social services roles and responsibilities throughout the U.S., challenges in providing services, and training needs. 

Who are respondents, and how many are you hoping to hear from?

Nursing Home Social Services Directors.   We hope that 1,000 will complete and return the survey.

How do respondents participate?  

We hope that most will participate by completing an online survey. 

We can also ground mail a hardcopy of the survey, if that is preferred.

How did you decide who to invite to be a respondent? 

We drew a nationally representative sample of NHs from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) website.  About 2,000 NHs were randomly selected. The sample was carefully selected to give results that are representative of the country. 

How did you get the email address for all those potential respondents?

We telephoned ALL those nursing homes and asked the receptionist for the social services director's  email address.

What will  you do with the data you collect?

We will group the data and report  findings in journal articles, reports, and presentations at nursing home and gerontology meetings.

NO data about any one Nursing Home will ever be released. We only release GROUP data.

Questions on Rights of Research Subjects?

If you have questions about the rights of research subjects, please contact the Human Subjects Office, 105 Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, 600 Newton Rd, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA  52242-1098, (319) 335-6564, or e-mail irb@uiowa.edu.

Thank you very much for your consideration of this research study.

Questions about the study?   

Contact Professor Mercedes Bern-Klug 319 335-1265 or mercedes-bern-klug@uiowa.edu.

Photos from our 2006 National Nursing Home Social Services Study: