Data from the Longitudinal Study of Aging are used to examine the incidence of nursing home admissions over a six-year period (1984-1990) among older adults (70+ at T1) living in four different residential contexts. Bivariate analysis identified significant differences between residence groups. Elders from less urbanized and thinly populated nonmetropolitan counties had the highest likelihood of admissions, while older residents of large metropolitan areas had the lowest. In multivariate models, differences by residence could not be accounted for by sociodemographic, health, and social support network characteristics that are known to influence admissions. Further research is needed to identify the specific community context factors that account for variation by place of residence in admissions experiences.

This investigation explores nutritional risk among two subgroups of older adults African American and geographically isolated elders (65 years or older). Telephone interviews were conducted with a stratified random sample of 1,126 respondents and included a 10-item nutritional risk appraisal. Results indicated that over one half of the sample may be considered to be at moderate or high nutritional risk, with African American and rural elders at dispropor tionately higher risk and rural Blacks at highest risk across a variety of indicators. The nutritional vulnerability of these groups may prompt practitioners to design and target services specifically for their needs, while also stimulating research to improve our understanding of the factors that account for these differential risks.