National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Survey
National Study of Long-Term Care Providers
Exciting News
In January 2020, the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers (NSLTCP) was renamed the National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Study (NPALS). In the spirit of transparency, this new name reflects the addition of more post-acute sectors (inpatient rehabilitation facilities and long-term care hospitals), while keeping the same sectors that have been in the study since it launched in 2012 (adult day services centers, assisted living and similar residential care communities, home health agencies, hospices, and nursing homes). The information that the National Center for Health Statistics plans to collect about adult day services centers and participants will not change. Please contact the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Long-Term Care Statistics Branch (LTCSB) at ltcsbfeedback@cdc.gov with your questions about this exciting change.
Primary Study Goals
The main goals of NPALS are to:
- Estimate the supply and use of paid, regulated post-acute and long-term care service providers.
- Estimate key policy-relevant characteristics and practices.
- Produce national and state-level estimates, where feasible.
- Compare estimates among sectors.
- Monitor trends over time.
NPALS expands NSLTCP, which replaces NCHS’ previous National Nursing Home Survey, National Home and Hospice Care Survey, and National Survey of Residential Care Facilities. The 2020 NPAL surveys on adult day services centers and residential care communities are scheduled to commence in the fall of 2020.
NPALS:
- Provides information on seven major sectors of paid, regulated post-acute and long-term care service providers and services users.
- Uses existing administrative data on nursing homes, home health agencies, hospices, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and long-term care hospitals.
- Collects primary data on adult day services centers and residential care communities via nationally representative surveys because national administrative data are not available on these providers.
- Allows comparisons among sectors at a similar point in time and over time.
Survey Fielding Update
NCHS ended fielding of the 2018 adult day services center survey and residential care community survey in February, 2019. The 2020 surveys are scheduled to commence in the fall of 2020.
Published Reports and Survey Documentation
Findings from the 2012, 2014, and 2016 survey waves are available from the NPALS Study Results and Publications pages. Please sign up for the Long-term Care Listserv to be notified when new products are published. Questionnaires from the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 survey waves can be found on the Questionnaires, Datasets, and Related Documentation page.
Public Use and Restricted Data Files
For the first time, NCHS will be able to produce a Public Use File (PUF) for the 2018 adult day services center and residential care community provider and services user surveys. The PUFs will allow the public to download the files directly from the NPALS website and perform analyses at no cost. Potentially identifiable information about providers and users will be removed from the PUFs to ensure the confidentiality of respondents. The restricted survey data files for the adult day services center and residential care community surveys will also be available for use in the NCHS Research Data Center (RDC) for a fee to researchers. The restricted 2012, 2014, and 2016 survey data files for adult day services centers and residential care communities are currently available through the RDC. Join the Long-Term Care Listserv to stay informed of future data releases. For more information about using the RDC, please visit the RDC website or contact NCHS’ Long-Term Care Statistics Branch (301-458-4747).
For more information and announcements:
- Sign up for the Long-Term Care Listserv
- Leave a message at 301-458-4747