Racial and Ethnic Comparisons of Nursing Home Residents at Admission

Objective: To present racial/ethnic comparisons of comprehensive profiles of nursing home residents at admission, including whites, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaska Natives. Methods: More than 885,000 admission assessments recorded in the national Minimum Data Set (MDS) were analyzed. Racial and ethnic analyses of the MDS admission assessments were conducted using the software package SAS. Results: There were significant racial/ethnic differences in gender and age, with minority residents more likely to be male and younger. African American, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islanders were significantly more likely than white residents to exhibit total dependence in the self-performance of the ADLs and to have greater cognitive impairments, with Asian/Pacific Islanders the most physically dependent and cognitively impaired. Discussion: The results illustrate significant and substantive differences among the racial/ethnic groups for many demographic characteristics, as well as health-related indicators and conditions. This analysis suggests that the general perspective that economically disadvantaged minorities enter nursing homes in worse condition than whites is too simplistic. More research, particularly qualitative studies of specific minority groups, will advance our understanding of why members of some racial/ethnic groups require nursing home placement sooner than other groups.