Do Not-For-Profit Nursing Homes Provide Better Quality Care?
On average, not-for-profit nursing homes deliver higher quality care than do for-profit nursing homes, according to a study published on bmj.com today. However, the authors stress that many factors may influence this relation and more work is needed to explore the impact of profit status on the quality of care delivered. Concerns about quality of care in nursing home care are widespread. In the United States two thirds of nursing homes are for-profit institutions, while in Canada, just over half of nursing homes are in for-profit ownership. Similarly, in the UK, more than half of healthcare beds belong to independent nursing homes for older people, most of which are operated by for-profit institutions. So a team of researchers based in Canada analysed the results of 82 studies spanning 1965 to 2003 comparing quality of care in for-profit and not-for-profit nursing homes. Most of the studies were carried out in the US and Canada. Differences in study design and quality were taken into a
