Racial and Ethnic Differences in Post-acute Home Health Services Among Older Adults With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias.

ABSTRACT: Home health is critical for older adults with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD), and more therapy and/or nursing visits are linked to better home health outcomes. Yet, whether visit frequency varies by race and ethnicity remains unclear. Using Medicare claims data in 2019 and 2021, we analyzed a cohort of 301,916 fee-for-service hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries with ADRD, investigating differences in nursing and therapy visits within 30-day post-discharge across racial and ethnic groups, and changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. On average, patients received 5.1 nursing and 6.2 therapy visits pre-pandemic, declining to 4.6 and 5.2, respectively, in 2021. Black individuals experienced the most notable drop in nursing visits, while racially and ethnically minoritized groups

SUBMITTER: Yang MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12535154 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature