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National Trends and Geographic Variation in Availability of Home Health Care: 2002-2015.

ABSTRACT: To evaluate national trends and geographic variation in the availability of home health care from 2002 to 2015 and identify county-specific characteristics associated with home health care.Observational study.All counties in the United States.All Medicare-certified home health agencies included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Home Health Compare system.County-specific availability of home health care, defined as the number of available home health agencies that provided services to a given county per 100,000 population aged ?18 years.The study included 15,184 Medicare-certified home health agencies that served 97% of U.S. ZIP codes. Between 2002-2003 and 2014-2015, the county-specific number of available home health agencies per 100,000 population aged ?18 years increased from 14.7 to 21.8 and the median (inter-quartile range) population that was serviced by at least one home health agency increased from 403,605 (890,329) to 455,488 (1,039,328). Considerable geographic variation in the availability of home health care was observed. The West, North East, and South Atlantic regions had lower home health care availability than the Central regions, and this pattern persisted over the study period. Counties with higher median income, a larger senior population, higher rates of households without a car and low access to stores, more obesity, greater inactivity, and higher proportions of non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic populations were more likely to have higher availability of home health care.The availability of home health care increased nationwide during the study period, but there was much geographic variation.

SUBMITTER: Wang Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5507741 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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National Trends and Geographic Variation in Availability of Home Health Care: 2002-2015.

Wang Yun Y Leifheit-Limson Erica C EC Fine Jonathan J Pandolfi Michelle M MM Gao Yan Y Liu Fanglin F Eckenrode Sheila S Lichtman Judith H JH

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 20170321 7

<h4>Objectives</h4>To evaluate national trends and geographic variation in the availability of home health care from 2002 to 2015 and identify county-specific characteristics associated with home health care.<h4>Design</h4>Observational study.<h4>Setting</h4>All counties in the United States.<h4>Participants</h4>All Medicare-certified home health agencies included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Home Health Compare system.<h4>Measurements</h4>County-specific availability of home ...[more]

PMID: 28322441

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Project description:ObjectivesEstimates of influenza vaccine use are not available at the county level for U.S. nursing home (NH) residents but are critically necessary to guide the implementation of quality improvement programs aimed at increasing vaccination. Furthermore, estimates that account for differences in resident characteristics between counties are unavailable. We estimated risk-standardized vaccination rates (RSVRs) among short- and long-stay NH residents by U.S. county and identified drivers of geographic variation.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study utilizing 100% of 2013-2015 fee-for-service Medicare claims, Minimum Data Set assessments, Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports, and Long-Term Care: Facts on Care in the U.S. We separately evaluated short-stay (<100 days) and long-stay (≥100 days) residents aged 65 and older across the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 influenza seasons. We estimated RSVRs via hierarchical logistic regression adjusting for 32 resident-level covariates. We then used multivariable linear regression models to assess associations between county-level NHs predictors and RSVRs.ResultsThe study cohort consisted of 2,817,217 residents in 14,658 NHs across 2798 counties. Short-stay residents had lower RSVRs than long-stay residents (2013-2014: median [interquartile range], 69.6% [62.8-74.5] vs 84.0% [80.8-86.4]), and there was wide variation within each population (range, 11.4-89.8 vs 49.1-92.6). Several modifiable facility-level characteristics were associated with increased RSVRs, including higher registered nurse to total nurse ratio and higher total staffing for licensed practical nurses, speech-language pathologists, and social workers. Characteristics associated with lower RSVRs included higher percentage of residents restrained, with a pressure ulcer, and NH-level hospitalizations per resident-year.ConclusionsSubstantial county-level variation in influenza vaccine use exists among short- and long-stay NH residents. Quality improvement interventions to improve vaccination rates can leverage these results to target NHs located in counties with lower risk-standardized vaccine use.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Availability of nursing home care has declined and national efforts have been initiated to improve the quality of nursing home care in the U.S. Yet, data are limited on whether there are geographic variations in declines of availability and quality of nursing home care, and whether variations persist over time. We sought to assess geographic variation in availability and quality of nursing home care. METHODS:Retrospective study using Medicaid/Medicare-certified nursing home data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 1996-2016. Outcomes were 1) availability of all nursing home care (1996-2016), measured by the number of Medicaid/Medicare-certified beds for a given county per 100,000 population aged ≥65 years, regardless of nursing home star rating; 2) availability of 5-star nursing home care, measured by the number of Medicaid/Medicare-certified beds provided by 5-star nursing homes; and 3) utilization of nursing home beds, defined as the rate of occupied Medicaid/Medicare-certified beds among the total Medicaid/Medicare-certified beds. RESULTS:From 1999 to 2016, availability of all nursing home care declined from 4882 (standard deviation: 931) to 3480 (912) beds, per 100,000 population aged ≥65 years. Persistent geographic variation in availability of nursing home care was observed; the correlation coefficient of county-specific availabilities from 1996 to 2016 was 0.78 (95% CI 0.77-0.79). From 2011 to 2016, availability of 5-star nursing home beds increased from 658 (303) to 895 (661) per 100,000 population aged ≥65 years. The correlation coefficient for county-specific availabilities from 2011 to 2016 was 0.54 (95% CI 0.51-0.56). Availability and quality of nursing home care were not highly correlated. In 2016, the correlation coefficient for county-specific availabilities between all nursing home and 5-star nursing home beds was 0.33 (95% CI 0.30-0.36). From 1996 to 2016, the utilization of certified beds declined from 78.5 to 72.2%. This decline was consistent across all census divisions, but most pronounced in the Mountain division and less in the South-Atlantic division. CONCLUSION:We observed persistent geographic variations in availability and quality of nursing home care. Availability of all nursing home care declined but availability of 5-star nursing home care increased. Availability and quality of nursing home care were not highly correlated.

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National Trends and Geographic Variation in Availability of Home Health Care: 2002-2015.

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National Trends and Geographic Variation in Availability of Home Health Care: 2002-2015.

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