| Conclusions
The theoretical and empirical research described in this article show a variety of encouraging results in that institutions are able to offer satisfying environments for their residents. In addition, many interventions have been successfully applied. One major problem of this research, however, is the fact that most studies were conducted in the 1970s or 1980s. Since 1980, the population of nursing home residents has changed noticeably. First, admission age has raised considerably. Most residents nowadays are age 85 or above when they move to an institution. Second, the proportion of residents suffering from dementia has increased tremendously—up to 50 percent in many institutions. Third, community-based services and new living arrangements are expanding; therefore healthier people are less likely to choose an institution, and the number of residents with chronic mental illnesses in nursing homes will increase further. These changes in the characteristics of institutionalized elderly people mean a major challenge for the providers and for future gerontological research.
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