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Purpose of the Study: The majority of resident satisfaction surveys available for use in assisted living settings have been developed in the United States; however, empirical assessment of their measurement properties remains limited and sporadic, as does knowledge regarding their applicability for use in settings outside of the United States. This study further examines the psychometric properties of the Ohio Department of Aging-Resident Satisfaction Survey (ODA-RSS) and explores its applicability within a sample of Canadian assisted living facilities. Design and Methods: Data were collected from 9,739 residential care facility (RCF) residents in Ohio, United States and 938 assisted-living residents in British Columbia, Canada. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the instrument’s psychometric properties within the 2 samples. Results: Although the ODA-RSS appears well suited for assessing resident satisfaction in Ohio RCFs, it is less so in British Columbia assisted living settings. Adequate reliability and validity were observed for all 8 measurable instrument domains in the Ohio sample, but only 4 (Care and Services, Employee Relations, Employee Responsiveness, and Communications) in the British Columbia sample. Implications: The ODA-RSS performs best in an environment that encompasses a wide range of RCF types. In settings where greater uniformity and standardization exist, more nuanced questions may be required to detect variation between facilities. It is not sufficient to assume that rigorous development and empirical testing of a tool ensures its applicability in states or countries other than that in which it was initially developed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Greater distance to health care facilities is associated with poorer health care service utilization, yet little is known about how the ‘decay effect’ of distance influences the outcome of heart disease that requires frequent medical care. Heart disease has been a leading cause of death in the United States for a last few decades, even with significant improvements in treatment and management. In this study, we examined the association between physical distance to hospitals and heart disease mortality. The geographic information system (GIS) approach was taken to integrate, visualize and analyze data from multiple sources. Hospitals in the state of Ohio were geocoded and zonal statistics were computed to quantify geographical access to hospitals at the level of Ohio''s 88 counties. Whereas the results of bivariate analysis showed a significant association between distance to hospitals and heart disease mortality, this relationship was not significant when accounting for socioeconomic and socio-demographic factors. This study demonstrates the usefulness of visualized health data and makes a case for further research on associations between disease outcomes and access to health care services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: Guided by the concept of "aging in place" and potential policy implications, the study analyzed naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs; 40% or greater house owners and renters aged 65 years and older) and whether there were spatiotemporal patterns in Ohio between 2000 and 2010., Method: Data were derived from the 2000 and 2010 census tracts. Geovisualization was used to visually examine the distribution of NORCs in 2000 and 2010. Global Moran's I was used to quantify the spatial distribution of NORCs in Ohio and Local Moran's I was used to identify clusters of NORCs (i.e., hot spots)., Results: The number of NORCs slightly decreased despite the overall increase of the older population from 2000 to 2010. NORCs were identified in one of the 3 most populous counties (i.e., Cuyahoga) and its neighboring counties. A number of hot spots were identified in Cuyahoga County (among Ohio's most populous and NORC-rich counties), both in 2000 and 2010. There were different patterns including emerging, disappearing, and enduring NORCs and disproportionate distributions of NORCs across the state between 2000 and 2010., Discussion: Locating NORCs could aid governments to create "aging in place" sensitive policies to address issues of independence, social care, health care, volunteerism, and community participation., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)