Decomposing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Nursing Home Quality of Life

John R. Bowblis, Weiwen Ng, Odichinma Akosionu, Tetyana P. Shippee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examines the racial/ethnic disparity among nursing home (NH) residents using a self-reported, validated measure of quality of life (QoL) among long-stay residents in Minnesota. Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition techniques determine which resident and facility factors are the potential sources of the racial/ethnic disparities in QoL. Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) report lower QoL than White residents. Facility structural characteristics and being a NH with a high proportion of residents who are BIPOC are the factors that have the largest explanatory share of the disparity. Modifiable characteristics like staffing levels explain a small share of the disparity. To improve the QoL of BIPOC NH residents, efforts need to focus on addressing systemic disparities for NHs with a high proportion of residents who are BIPOC.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1051-1061
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Applied Gerontology
Volume40
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded by the National Institute of Minority Health (Grant No. 3R01MD010729, Tetyana Shippee, PhD).

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.

Keywords

  • decomposition
  • nursing homes
  • quality of life
  • racial composition
  • racial/ethnic disparities

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