Deciding about nursing home care in dementia: A conjoint analysis of how older people balance competing goals.

Aim: "Don't put me in a home" is a common preference of older people, but so too is "I don't want to be a burden on my family." These and other goals often conflict with each other when people have worsening dementia and the issue of possible nursing home admission arises.

Methods: Community-dwelling older hospital patients were asked to imagine that they lived alone, had dementia and were experiencing increasing practical difficulties, and were presented with 11 possible "outcome packages.