@article {8251, title = {How do race and Hispanic ethnicity affect nursing home admission? Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.}, journal = {J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci}, volume = {70}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Jul}, pages = {628-38}, publisher = {70}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates how health- and disability-based need factors and enabling factors (e.g., socioeconomic and family-based resources) relate to nursing home admission among 3 different racial and ethnic groups.

METHOD: We use Cox proportional hazard models to estimate differences in nursing home admission for non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics from 1998 to 2010 in the Health and Retirement Study (N = 18,952).

RESULTS: Racial-ethnic differences in nursing home admission are magnified after controlling for health- and disability-based need factors and enabling factors. Additionally, the degree to which specific factors contribute to risk of nursing home admission varies significantly across racial-ethnic groups.

DISCUSSION: Our findings indicate that substantial racial and ethnic variations in nursing home admission continue to exist and that Hispanic use is particularly low. We argue that these differences may demonstrate a significant underuse of nursing homes for racial and ethnic minorities. Alternatively, they could signify different preferences for nursing home care, perhaps due to unmeasured cultural factors or structural obstacles.

}, keywords = {Activities of Daily Living, African Continental Ancestry Group, Disability Evaluation, European Continental Ancestry Group, Hispanic Americans, Homes for the Aged, Humans, Nursing homes, Proportional Hazards Models, Socioeconomic factors, United States}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbu114}, url = {http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/09/08/geronb.gbu114.abstract}, author = {Thomeer, Mieke Beth and Mudrazija, Stipica and Jacqueline L. Angel} }