Facility ownership and mortality among older adults residing in care homes

The Impact of Long-Term Care Home Ownership and Administration Type on All-Cause Mortality from March to April 2020 in Madrid, Spain

Our aim is to assess whether long-term care home (LTCH) ownership and administration type were associated with all-cause mortality in 470 LTCHs in the Community of Madrid (Spain) during March and April 2020, the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are eight categories of LTCH type, including various combinations of ownership type (for-profit, nonprofit, and public) and administration type (completely private, private with places rented by the public sector, administrative management by procurement, and completely public). Multilevel regression was used to examine the association between mortality and LTCH type, adjusting for LTCH size, the spread of the COVID-19 infection, and the referral hospital. There were 9468 deaths, a mortality rate of 18.3%. Public and private LTCHs had lower mortality than LTCHs under public-private partnership (PPP) agreements. In the fully adjusted model, mortality was 7.4% (95% CI, 3.1-11.7%) in totally public LTCHs compared with 21.9% (95% CI, 17.4-26.4%) in LTCHs which were publicly owned with administrative management by procurement. These results are a testimony to the fatal consequences that pre-pandemic public-private partnerships in long-term residential care led to during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Community of Madrid, Spain.

A 2-year pandemic period analysis of facility and county-level characteristics of nursing home coronavirus deaths in the United States, January 1, 2020 – December 18, 2021

Nursing home residents are highly susceptible to COVID-19 infection and complications. We used a generalized linear mixed Poisson model and spatial statistics to examine the determinants of COVID-19 deaths in 13,350 nursing homes in the first 2-year pandemic period using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and county-level related data. The average prevalence of COVID-19 mortality among residents was 9.02 (Interquartile range = 10.18) per 100 nursing home beds in the first 2-year of the pandemic. Fully-adjusted mixed model shows that nursing homes COVID-19 deaths reduced by 5% (Q2 versus Q1: IRR = 0.949, 95% CI 0.901– 0.999), 14.4% (Q3 versus Q1: IRR = 0.815, 95% CI 0.718 – 0.926), and 25% (Q2 versus Q1: IRR = 0.751, 95% CI 0.701– 0.805) of facility ratings. Spatial analysis showed a significant hotspot of nursing home COVID-19 deaths in the Northeast US. This study contributes to nursing home quality assessment for improving residents' health.

COVID-19 excess mortality among long-term care residents in Ontario, Canada

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had devastating consequences worldwide, including a spike in global mortality. Residents of long-term care homes have been disproportionately affected. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine the scale of pandemic-related deaths of long-term care residents in the province of Ontario, Canada, and to estimate excess mortality due to a positive COVID-19 test adjusted for demographics and regional variations. Crude mortality rates for 2019 and 2020 were compared, as were predictors of mortality among residents with positive and negative tests from March 2020 to December 2020. We found the crude mortality rates were higher from April 2020 to June 2020 and from November 2020 to December 2020, corresponding to Wave 1 and Wave 2 of the pandemic in Ontario. There were also substantial increases in mortality among residents with a positive COVID-19 test. The significant differences in excess mortality observed in relation to long-term care home ownership category and geographic region may indicate gaps in the healthcare system that warrant attention from policymakers. Further investigation is needed to identify the most relevant factors in explaining these differences.

Risque d’éclosions de COVID-19 et de décès de résidents dans les foyers de soins de longue durée à but lucratif

CONTEXTE:

Les foyers de soins de longue durée (SLD) ont jusqu’à présent été l’épicentre de la pandémie de maladie à coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) au Canada. Selon des études antérieures, les soins offerts dans les foyers de SLD à but lucratif sont de qualité inférieure pour toute une gamme d’indicateurs de résultats et de processus, ce qui soulève la question suivante: les conséquences de la COVID-19 ont-elles été pires dans les foyers à but lucratif que dans ceux à but non lucratif?

MÉTHODES:

Une étude de cohorte rétrospective basée sur l’ensemble des foyers de SLD en Ontario a été menée pour la période du 29 mars au 20 mai 2020 à partir de la base de données sur les éclosions de COVID-19 alimentée par le ministère des Soins de longue durée de l’Ontario. Des méthodes logistiques hiérarchiques et basées sur des données de comptage ont été utilisées pour modéliser les associations entre le statut financier des foyers de SLD (à but lucratif, à but non lucratif ou municipal) et les éclosions de COVID-19 dans ces derniers, l’ampleur des éclosions (nombre de résidents infectés) et le nombre de décès de résidents attribuables à la COVID-19.

RÉSULTATS:

L’analyse portait sur les 623 foyers de SLD de l’Ontario, qui comptent 75 676 résidents. Parmi ces foyers, 360 (57,7 %) sont à but lucratif; 162 (26,0 %) sont à but non lucratif; et 101 (16,2 %) sont des foyers municipaux. Au total, 190 (30,5 %) éclosions de COVID-19 ont été enregistrées dans des foyers de SLD. Elles ont touché 5218 résidents et entraîné 1452 décès, ce qui représente un taux de létalité général de 27,8 %. Les probabilités d’une éclosion dans un foyer ont été associées à l’incidence de la COVID-19 dans la circonscription sanitaire entourant celui-ci (rapport de cotes [RC] ajusté 1,91; intervalle de confiance [IC] à 95 % 1,19–3,05), au nombre de résidents dans l’établissement (RC ajusté 1,38; IC à 95 % 1,18–1,61) et à l’application des anciennes normes d’aménagement (RC ajusté 1,55; IC à 95 % 1,01–2,38), mais pas au statut financier d’un foyer. Comparativement au statut « à but non lucratif », le statut « à but lucratif » a été associé à l’ampleur d’une éclosion dans un foyer de SLD (risque relatif [RR] 1,96; IC à 95 % 1,26–3,05) ainsi qu’au nombre de décès de résidents (RR ajusté 1,78; IC à 95 % 1,03–3,07). Ces associations s’expliquent par une plus grande prévalence des anciennes normes d’aménagement dans les foyers de SLD à but lucratif ainsi qu’à l’appartenance à une chaîne de propriétés.

INTERPRÉTATION:

Le statut « à but lucratif » est associé à l’ampleur d’une éclosion de COVID-19 et au nombre de décès de résidents dans un foyer de SLD, mais pas au risque d’éclosion. Deux principaux facteurs expliquent les différences entre les foyers à but lucratif et non lucratif, soit l’application des anciennes normes d’aménagement et l’appartenance à une chaîne de propriétés. Ceux-ci devraient être au coeur des futures mesures et politiques de lutte contre les infections.

Social engagement within the facility increased life expectancy in nursing home residents: a follow-up study

Background

Social engagement (SE) has been consistently shown to improve survival among community-dwelling older people, but the evidence in nursing home residents is inconclusive and prone to short-term reverse causation and confounding by major health determinants. Our main objective was to study the potential causal effect of within-the-facility social engagement (SE) on long-term all-cause mortality in care home residents.

Methods

A representative cohort of 382 nursing home residents in Madrid without severe physical and cognitive impairments at baseline was followed up for 10-year all-cause mortality. Standardized mortality curves for residents with low/null, moderate, and high levels of SE at baseline were estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods and spline-based survival models with inverse probability of exposure weights conditional on baseline sociodemographic characteristics, facility features, comorbidity, and disability. Standardized 5-year mortality risks and median survival times were compared across levels of SE.

Results

The baseline prevalences of low/null, moderate, and high SE were 36, 44, and 20%, respectively. Compared with residents with low/null SE at baseline, the standardized differences (95% confidence intervals) in 5-year mortality risk were − 2.3% (− 14.6 to 10.0%) for moderately engaged residents and − 18.4% (− 33.8 to − 2.9%) for highly engaged residents. The median survival time increased by 0.4 (− 1.4 to 2.2) and 3.0 (0.8 to 5.2) years, respectively.

Conclusion

Residents with high SE within the nursing home had an 18% lower 5-year mortality risk and a 3-year increase in their median survival, as compared with residents with similar health determinants but low/null SE. The development of adequate tailored intervention programs, addressed to increase SE in nursing home residents, could improve their long-term survival, in addition to expected gains in quality of life.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-020-01876-2.

For-profit long-term care homes and the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks and resident deaths

BACKGROUND

Long-term care (LTC) homes have been the epicentre of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Canada to date. Previous research shows that for-profit LTC homes deliver inferior care across a variety of outcome and process measures, raising the question of whether for-profit homes have had worse COVID-19 outcomes than nonprofit homes.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all LTC homes in Ontario, Canada, from Mar. 29 to May 20, 2020, using a COVID-19 outbreak database maintained by the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care. We used hierarchical logistic and count-based methods to model the associations between profit status of LTC homes (for-profit, nonprofit or municipal) and COVID-19 outbreaks in LTC homes, the extent of COVID-19 outbreaks (number of residents infected), and deaths of residents from COVID-19.

RESULTS

The analysis included all 623 Ontario LTC homes, comprising 75 676 residents; 360 LTC homes (57.7%) were for profit, 162 (26.0%) were nonprofit, and 101 (16.2%) were municipal homes. There were 190 (30.5%) outbreaks of COVID-19 in LTC homes, involving 5218 residents and resulting in 1452 deaths, with an overall case fatality rate of 27.8%. The odds of a COVID-19 outbreak were associated with the incidence of COVID-19 in the public health unit region surrounding an LTC home (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-3.05), the number of residents (adjusted OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.18-1.61), and older design standards of the home (adjusted OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.01-2.38), but not profit status. For-profit status was associated with both the extent of an outbreak in an LTC home (adjusted risk ratio [RR] 1.96, 95% CI 1.26-3.05) and the number of resident deaths (adjusted RR 1.78, 95% CI 1.03-3.07), compared with nonprofit homes. These associations were mediated by a higher prevalence of older design standards in for-profit LTC homes and chain ownership.

INTERPRETATION

For-profit status is associated with the extent of an outbreak of COVID-19 in LTC homes and the number of resident deaths, but not the likelihood of outbreaks. Differences between for-profit and nonprofit homes are largely explained by older design standards and chain ownership, which should be a focus of infection control efforts and future policy.

Medication omission rates in New Zealand residential aged care homes: a national description

Background

A medication omission is an event where a prescribed medication is not taken before the next scheduled dose. Medication omissions are typically classed as errors within Residential Aged Care (RAC) homes, as they have the potential to lead to harm if poorly managed, but may also stem from good clinical decision-making. This study aimed to quantify the incidence, prevalence, and types of medication omissions in RAC homes on a national scale, using a New Zealand-based sample.

Methods

We conducted retrospective pharmacoepidemiology of de-identified medication administration e-records from December 1st 2016 to December 31st 2017. Four tiers of de-identified data were collected: RAC home level data (ownership, levels of care), care staff level data (competency level/role), resident data (gender, age, level of care), and medication related data (omissions, categories of omissions, recorded reasons for omission). Data were analysed using SPSS version 24 and Microsoft Excel.

Results

A total of 11, 015 residents from 374 RAC homes had active medication charts; 8020 resided in care over the entire sample timeframe. A mean rate of 3.59 medication doses were omitted per 100 (±7.43) dispensed doses/resident. Seventy-three percent of residents had at least one dose omission. The most common omission category used was ‘not-administered’ (49.9%), followed by ‘refused’ (34.6%). The relationship between ownership type and mean rate of omission was significant (p = 0.002), corporate operated RAC homes had a slightly higher mean (3.73 versus 3.33), with greater variation. The most commonly omitted medications were Analgesics and Laxatives. Forty-eight percent of all dose omissions were recorded without a comment justifying the omission.

Conclusions

This unique study is the first to report rate of medication omissions per RAC resident over a one-year timeframe. Although the proportion of medications omitted reported in this study is less than previously reported by hospital-based studies, there is a significant relationship between a resident’s level of care, RAC home ownership types, and the rate of omission.

Features and impact of missing values in the association of self-rated health with mortality in care homes: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Self-rated health (SRH) is a health measure used in studies of older adults. The objective of this study is to analyze SRH as a predictor of mortality in the institutionalized older population and the characteristics of those who do not provide information about their SRH on health questionnaires.

METHODS

This is a 15-year follow-up study of older adult residents in nursing or care homes in of Madrid, Spain. SRH was measured on a 5-point Likert type scale. The association between answering the SRH question and socio-demographic and health characteristics was evaluated through prevalence ratio (PR), estimated by Poisson regression models. Survival rates associated with SRH were studied through a multivariate Cox regression.

RESULTS

The sample has a mean age of 83.4 (standard deviation, SD = 7.3), with 75.7% women. Twelve percent did not answer the SRH item. Those who did not answer showed a higher probability of disability (Barthel index, PR = 0.76, 95% confidence interval = 0.67-0.86) and/or dementia (PR = 8.03, 3.38-19.03). A trend for higher mortality was observed in those persons who did not respond (adjusted hazard ratio HR = 1.26, 0.75-2.11). The mortality rate was 32% higher for those who declared poor SRH in comparison with those who reported good SRH (adjusted HR = 1.32, 1.08-1.6).

CONCLUSIONS

There is an elevated number of people who do not respond to the SRH item, mainly those with disabilities and cognitive deterioration. Lack of response to SRH is a good indicator of 15-year mortality for persons institutionalized in care or nursing homes.