Statistics and the media are a funny thing. Recently, this blog has covered several issues related to retirement homes, from quality of care, to more philosophical questions about how America treats its elderly. Unsurprisingly, that’s because these things are news today — there’s a lot of media coverage, and even scholarly work being done on these topics, particularly in light of the aging populace. But, just because something makes the news doesn’t actually mean it’s significant. If you had to guess, what percentage of senior citizens would you say live in a nursing home? Would you be surprised to learn it’s only 5%?
