Concept mapping key elements and performance measures in a state nursing home-to-community transition project

The literature reveals a patchwork of state and local efforts to transition persons with disabilities from nursing homes to community-based settings. To advance knowledge development, we conducted a concept mapping study with community participants in five pilot sites of a state-funded transition project in Texas. The study resulted in a visual statistical model of 14 key conceptual elements that they deemed essential in a nursing home-to-community transition project. Community participants reported that strategic components of the state project generally fit well with their perception of the ideal transition model, despite the need for performance enhancements in many areas. The original study did not advance knowledge very far beyond the patchwork of observations and findings reported in the literature. When elements in the original concept map were reduced from 14 to 6, and the new ones examined through the person-in-environment classification system, both the model and current literature on nursing home-to-community transition efforts achieved a greater level of theoretical coherence.