Housing with supportive services (HSS) is non-institutional housing with essential services (e.g., assistance with activities of daily living, assistance with medication administration) to enable elderly and non-elderly adults with functional and/or cognitive impairments to live as independently as possible in a non-institutional setting. It is known by a variety of names, including residential care/assisted living (RC/AL), small group homes, and Section 8/202 housing;HSS is a type of care in the family of long-term services and supports. All told, 22% of the population aged 85 years and older lives in a setting with supportive services, 7% in community housing with supports, and 15% in long-term care settings. Lack of data in general and lack of standardized and comparable data on HSS providers make it challenging for policy makers and funders to assess the quality of care and for consumers to make an informed choice among HSS options. Public reporting of information related to the quality of care is one option to compile and disseminate information to promote decision-making and potentially improve the quality of care. Public reporting has become commonplace for various health services and sectors, but in terms of HSS it is not uniformly available and some of what is available is misleading and may not be achieving its intended purpose. Consequently, the purpose of this conference is for key stakeholders in public reporting on HSS to advance the science of public reporting on HSS. Specifically, the conference will assess: (a) how far the field has advanced (e.g., what information is available on key issues such as services provided, costs, accessibility, staffing);(b) what has yet to occur to promote successful public reporting (e.g., the optimal strategy with which to obtain information from providers and the use of best practices to assure the information is used by consumers and consumer intermediaries);and (c) how to prioritize next steps related to public reporting. The conference proceedings will disseminate findings related to the content of the available information;its quality (e.g., data quality, computer usability, use by consumers and consumer intermediaries);its source, comprehensiveness, and geographic reach;and recommended next steps. They will be suitable for posting on the websites of AHRQ, CMS, and others. A second product will be a peer-reviewed manuscript for academic audiences, and a third will be an article suitable for HSS providers. It is expected that this conference will make great strides in promoting the science, availability, and use of public reporting for housing with supportive services for aged and disabled consumers.
This conference will promote the science, availability, and use of public reporting of housing with supportive services for aged and disabled consumers.
