With senior living’s affordability a top concern for older adults and their families, 25% of respondents to a new US News & World Report survey said they would be willing to pay more upfront to guarantee continued access at a predictable rate.
Pollfish surveyed 754 adult decision-makers — older adults or their loved ones — who were in the process of selecting a senior living community within the past year to gauge their experiences and learn about what they consider when selecting a place to move to.
The good news is that 76% of respondents said they had a positive attitude going into the process of choosing a senior living community. Eleven percent, however, said they had a negative attitude.
Even those who felt positive said they were aware of challenges that come with a new living situation based on the experiences of others: 39% said they knew someone who had become lonely and felt a loss of independence since moving into a senior living community, 32% said they knew someone who could no longer afford their senior living community choice, 31% said someone they knew had issues with quality of healthcare, and 26% knew someone who had issues with safety and security at their senior living community.
But once they made a decision, 56% of those who said they felt positive about moving into senior living said that their senior living community offered the level of care they expected, 99% said they felt safe, 98% said they trusted the staff to care for their well-being, and 86% said they had no regrets moving into their senior living community.
Top five concerns
Going into their search for a senior living community, the top five concerns of survey respondents were quality of care (34%), safety and security (21%), affordability over time (17%), monthly fees (12%), and the ability to maintain current friendships and activities (9%).
Finding updated cost information was an important factor in comparing communities, respondents said, and 73% said it had been easy to find accurate pricing information, whereas 10% said it had been difficult. One-third of survey participants (33%) cited cost and value as the most important deciding factor when choosing a senior living community.
More than half (56%) of respondents said they preferred an all-inclusive pricing model, whereas 19% said they preferred an a la carte model, paying only for what they need. A fourth of respondents (25%) said their concern about costs, over time, would make them willing to pay more money upfront to guarantee continued access at a predictable price.
Various research tools tapped in searches
When it came to searching for a senior living community, 50% of survey respondents cited in-person tours as the most helpful factor; 86% of respondents said they toured at least three communities, whereas 12% only toured one or two communities. After in-person tours, participants cited websites with reviews of multiple communities (38%) and recommendations from family and friends (37%) as being helpful.
Additionally, 31% of respondents said they followed recommendations from healthcare professionals, and 26% found suggestions from a professional senior living adviser most helpful. A smaller percentage (15%) said they found Facebook pages helpful in their searches.
Information about health and safety measures (59%), reviews from residents or family members (53%) and transparent pricing information (36%) were the top three factors prospective residents and their families looked at from all of the sources they used in their research of a community.
Respondents who toured senior living communities said they most appreciated clean and well-maintained facilities (43%), welcoming staff members (41%) and resident safety measures (39%). The most important safety features they looked for were secure entrances and exits (22%), emergency call systems (19%) and cleanliness (15%). The top health features respondents looked for in comparing communities were the caregivers-to-staff ratio (38%), caregiving hours per day (33%) and clearly outlined COVID-19 prevention strategies (19%).
Read more marketing news here.
