High-Minority Nursing Homes Disproportionately Affected by COVID-19 Deaths

Racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare have been highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File, this study examined the relationship between nursing home racial/ethnic mix and COVID-19 resident mortality. As...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Frontiers in public health 2021-03, Vol.9, p.606364-606364
Main Authors:	Weech-Maldonado, Robert, Lord, Justin, Davlyatov, Ganisher, Ghiasi, Akbar, Orewa, Gregory
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Aged Bayes Theorem COVID-19 COVID-19 - mortality disparities Ethnic Groups Female Health administration Health care disparities Humans Male Medicaid Medicare Minority Groups mortality Nursing Homes Pandemics Public Health race/ethnicity United States - epidemiology
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare have been highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File, this study examined the relationship between nursing home racial/ethnic mix and COVID-19 resident mortality. As of October 25, 2020, high minority nursing homes reported 6.5 COVID-19 deaths as compared to 2.6 deaths for nursing homes that had no racial/ethnic minorities. After controlling for interstate differences, facility-level resident characteristics, resource availability, and organizational characteristics, high-minority nursing homes had 61% more COVID-19 deaths [Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) = 1.61; < 0.001] as compared to nursing facilities with no minorities. From a policy perspective, nursing homes, that serve primarily minority populations, may need additional resources, such as, funding for staffing and personal protective equipment in the face of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened the focus on healthcare disparities and societal inequalities in the delivery of long-term care.
ISSN:	2296-2565 2296-2565