Unmet need among disabled elders: a problem in access to community long term care?

To more completely understand unmet need as an indicator of demand for long-term care, longitudinal data on a representative sample of disabled elders were used to track the extent, type, and predictors of unmet need(s) over a 4-year period. Unmet IADL needs were more common than unmet PADL needs with only 1-2% reporting both types. Unmet needs appear to be temporary rather than persistent and are predicted by lack of an engaged (not necessarily unavailable) caregiving system. The data suggest that the rate of unmet personal care need rather than the rate of any unmet need represents a more accurate estimate of the number of elders for whom community long-term care services are critical to decrease risk of institutionalization.