High-Minority Nursing Homes Disproportionately Affected by COVID-19 Deaths

Racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare have been highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File, this study examined the relationship between nursing home racial/ethnic mix and COVID-19 resident mortality. As...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in public health 2021-03, Vol.9, p.606364
Main Authors: Weech-Maldonado, Robert, Lord, Justin, Davlyatov, Ganisher, Ghiasi, Akbar, Orewa, Gregory
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Bayes Theorem
COVID-19
COVID-19 - mortality
disparities
Ethnicity
Female
Humans
Male
Medicaid
Medicare
Minority Groups
mortality
Nursing Homes
Pandemics
Public Health
race/ethnicity
United States - epidemiology
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Summary:Racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare have been highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File, this study examined the relationship between nursing home racial/ethnic mix and COVID-19 resident mortality. As of October 25, 2020, high minority nursing homes reported 6.5 COVID-19 deaths as compared to 2.6 deaths for nursing homes that had no racial/ethnic minorities. After controlling for interstate differences, facility-level resident characteristics, resource availability, and organizational characteristics, high-minority nursing homes had 61% more COVID-19 deaths [Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) = 1.61; < 0.001] as compared to nursing facilities with no minorities. From a policy perspective, nursing homes, that serve primarily minority populations, may need additional resources, such as, funding for staffing and personal protective equipment in the face of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened the focus on healthcare disparities and societal inequalities in the delivery of long-term care.
ISSN:2296-2565
2296-2565
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2021.606364