Access to Neighborhood Amenities and Services and the Risk of 2-Year Nursing Home Placement Among Persons Living With Dementia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Older adults prefer to age in their homes and communities, but due to increased care needs associated with dementia, persons living with dementia are much more likely to move into nursing homes. Living in communities with greater access to neighborhood amenities and supports may reduce the risk of nursing home placement by helping persons living with dementia maintain their health and independence and lowering caregiving burden and stress. This study aims to identify neighborhood amenities and services that are associated with nursing home transitions among persons living with dementia.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We used data from the 2004-2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which includes 3 507 older adults with dementia, linked with the HRS Contextual Data Resource and the National Neighborhood Data Archive. Logistic regression models were estimated adjusting for sociodemographic and neighborhood characteristics.

RESULTS: Findings suggest that access to more park areas, healthy food outlets, and home health services was associated with a lower risk of 2-year nursing home placement.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings emphasize the importance of neighborhood amenities and services as essential components of supportive communities, enabling persons living with dementia to age in place.