Full Citation

Title: Online Customer Reviews of Assisted Living Communities: Association with Community, County, and State Factors

Citation Type: Journal Article

Forthcoming?: Yes

ISBN:

ISSN: 1525-8610

DOI: 10.1016/J.JAMDA.2023.02.007

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: Objectives Online reviews provided by users of assisted living communities may offer a unique source of heretofore unexamined data. We explored online reviews as a possible source of information about these communities and examined the association between the reviews and aspects of state regulations, while controlling for assisted living, county, and state market-level factors. Design Cross-sectional, observational study. Setting and Participants Sample included 149,265 reviews for 8828 communities. Methods Primary (eg, state regulations) and secondary (eg, Medicare Beneficiary Summary Files) data were used. County-level factors were derived from the Area Health Resource Files, and state-level factors from the integrated Public Use Microdata series. Information on state regulations was obtained from a previously compiled regulatory dataset. Average assisted living rating score, calculated as the mean of posted online reviews, was the outcome of interest, with a higher score indicating a more positive review. We used word cloud to visualize how often words appeared in 1-star and 5-star reviews. Logistic regression models were used to determine the association between online rating and a set of community, county, and state variables. Models were weighted by the number of reviews per assisted living bed. Results Overall, 76% of communities had online reviews. We found lower odds of positive reviews in communities with greater proportions of Medicare/Medicaid residents [odds ratio (OR) = 0.986; P < .001], whereas communities located in micropolitan areas (compared with urban), and those in states with more direct care worker hours (per week per bed) had greater odds of high rating (OR = 1.722; P < .001 and OR = 1.018, P < .05, respectively). Conclusions and Implications Online reviews are increasingly common, including in long-term care. These reviews are a promising source of information about important aspects of satisfaction, particularly in care settings that lack a public reporting infrastructure. We found several significant associations between online ratings and community-level factors, suggesting these reviews may be a valuable source of information to consumers and policy makers.

Url: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1525861023001263

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Temkin-Greener, Helena; Mao, Yunjiao; McGarry, Brian

Periodical (Full): Journal of the American Medical Directors Association

Issue:

Volume:

Pages: 1-8

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Health, Housing and Segregation, Population Data Science

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