Dear Colleagues,

we are excited to invite submissions for our upcoming session Surveying people in nursing homes and other institutions: Challenges and Solutionshttps://www.europeansurveyresearch.org/conf2025/sessions.php?sess=113, at the 11th conference of the European Survey Research Association (ESRA)https://www.europeansurveyresearch.org/conference/utrecht-2025/call-for-abstracts/, which takes place at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, from July 14 to July 18, 2025.

The session is organized by Michael Bergmann (SHARE), Mareike Bünning (DZA), Katrin Drasch (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg) and Michael Weinhardt (DZA).

Please submit your abstract (max. 300 words) via the ESRA conference management systemhttps://www.europeansurveyresearch.org/conf2025/ by December 20, 2024.

Session Details A substantial part of every society's population resides in nursing homes, long-term care facilities or residential homes for disabled adults. However, many surveys restrict their samples to people living in private households, excluding institutionalised populations. This leads to biased estimates in population-level research. Including these populations is crucial for providing a more comprehensive understanding of social outcomes across different living conditions and informing policies that address the needs of vulnerable groups. Yet, even if surveys attempt to collect data from people living in institutions, this comes with particular problems and challenges. Finding a suitable sampling frame is often challenging and may require a two-step procedure, where institutions are sampled first and individuals within institutions second. In panel studies, tracking the transition into institutionalised living is particularly difficult. Moreover, gaining the cooperation of institutions, which are not the primary research target but play a key role as 'gatekeepers', is essential. Conducting the interview itself may pose further challenges, including finding a suitable location in the institution and scheduling interviews around tight routines. Finally, depending on the institution, the health status of residents may limit their ability to participate in the survey, and alternative methods like assisted or proxy interviews may be necessary to maintain data quality and representativeness.

This session invites contributions that address these challenges and propose solutions for surveying institutionalised populations. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

* Sampling institutions, including questions of suitable sampling frames or other approaches * Sampling procedures for individuals residing within institutions * Monitoring transitions to institutional living in panel studies * Engaging institutional managers and stakeholders to support research efforts * Practical challenges in conducting interviews within institutions and nursing homes * Ethical issues in surveying the institutionalised population, such as consent and vulnerability * Enhancing data quality in surveys on institutionalised populations

We are looking forward to your submissions.

Best regards Mareike Bünning

--- Dr. Mareike Bünning Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin Deutscher Alterssurvey/Senior Researcher German Ageing Survey Deutsches Zentrum für Altersfragen/German Centre of Gerontology Manfred-von-Richthofen-Str. 2 12101 Berlin, Germany Tel: +4930 - 260740-93 E-Mail: mareike.buenning@dza.demailto:mareike.buenning@dza.de Internet: www.dza.de http://www.dza.de/