The pandemic accelerated a shift in consumer preference toward home care, presenting a longer-lasting challenge for senior living communities and other facility-based providers in regaining consumer confidence, according to a recent survey.
Toledo, OH-based Transcend Strategy Group’s 2022 national consumer preference survey looked at “the good, the bad and the ugly” of what consumers really think about senior living and care — both in the home and at long-term care facilities — and the key emotional drivers steering decision-making.
Home care lean
The growth strategy firm’s report revealed that consumers associate in-home care with comfort and proximity to family.
Most respondents (50%) said they would prefer in-home care for a loved one experiencing long-term serious illness, whereas 30% said they would prefer a long-term care residential setting, and 20% said they were unsure.
When those who favored in-home care were asked why, most said comfort (30%), closeness to family (36%) and a greater perceived ability to meet a loved one’s mental and emotional health.
Although consumers already lean toward aging in place in the home, the report authors said that one of the bigger challenges for facility providers who also offer home care services is actually making sure families know about it.
“The possibility for in-home care, along with its benefits, should be continually incorporated into marketing and outreach efforts, even if it may seem obvious,” the authors noted.
COVID-19 concerns remain
According to survey responses, consumers remain COVID-hesitant about facility-based care.
In the organization’s 2020 poll, 69% of respondents said they were concerned about a loved one being exposed to the COVID-19 virus at home, and 78% said they were concerned about exposure at a facility. Although that concern has dropped for in-home care (22%) in the 2022 survey, it remains a major concern for facilities (75%).
When asked whether the ongoing pandemic would make families hesitant about loved ones receiving care in either setting, only 16% of participants indicated that they were more hesitant about both settings, and 6% said that they were more concerned about care only at home. In contrast, 59% still said that the pandemic makes them hesitant about a loved one receiving care in a facility.
Facilities have pros
Around-the-clock availability, resources and expertise, on the other hand, were seen as top advantages for facility care. The two most common themes for those favoring facility-based care were 24/7 access to care and the ability for the facility to quickly respond to any situation.
Of those who said they preferred facility-based care, 41% mentioned professional, trained / specialized staff members, and 8% mentioned access to staff members or equipment. Respondents also piritized information access (12%), communication (12%) and well-documented infection control (9%) as the most important benefits they would value from a facility.
Real-time access to medical information, robust communication and documented crisis response plans can reassure families and go a long way in easing misplaced guilt or uncertainty about entrusting a loved one’s care to someone else, according to the report authors.
“Families need assurance that they will have constant connection to their loved ones and their overall condition,” according to the report. “They want confidence that they will be kept in the loop no matter what happens — even during emergencies.”
Transcend Strategy Group CEO Stephanie Johnston said that consumers want and expect more communication.
“The great news is that efforts have huge benefits in employee recruitment and retention as well,” Johnston said.
Responses were gathered Jan. 28 to 30 from an online panel of 1,000 respondents across the country.
