The need for nursing home placement will increase in a rapidly ageing world. If decisions regarding their placement into long-term care
do not involve the elderly themselves, they will have been deprived of
their rights as citizens and humans. Professionals of various disciplines
involved in health care services are thus obliged to assist elderly people
in need of residential placement to determine where to spend the rest
of their lives. This paper discusses the appropriateness of nursing home
placement, the decision-making process regarding such placement,
and gaps in the literature, and makes suggestions as to what needs to
be done. It is proposed that the current focus on matching care needs
with service provision is not ideal, and that other factors have to be
considered.

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