Identifying Attributes of Groups of Nursing Home Residents by Recreational Activity Attendance Tendencies

The Preference Match Tracker (PMT) is a pragmatic process measure that links reports of important preferences with recreational activity attendance for nursing home (NH) residents. The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of NH residents’ (n = 584) activity attendance/refusals and determine if groups differed on demographic and clinical attributes at baseline, and on well-being outcomes (pain, depressive symptoms, functional ability) over one-year. Three groups were identified—preferred attenders, attenders, and refusers—that significantly differed on age, gender, cognitive ability, and count of important preferences. Attenders reported higher functional disability than refusers over time, especially older residents. Refusers reported more pain at baseline than attenders and preferred attenders, but then preferred attenders reported more pain one year later. Paying attention to attributes of residents and patterns of attending or refusing to attend activities may help clinicians identify individuals who are at risk for negative clinical health outcomes.