Not So Black and White: Nursing Home Concentration of Hispanics Associated with Prevalence of Pressure Ulcers

Objective

To examine the association between the nursing home (NH) concentration of Hispanics and prevalence of pressure ulcer.

Design

Secondary data analysis using data from the national repository of the 2000 Minimum Data Set (MDS) and On-Line Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) data. We used a multivariate logistic model, with the Huber-White correction to account for clustering of persons within a nursing facility, to examine the association of Hispanic NH concentration with the prevalence of pressure ulcers, after adjusting for resident level characteristics.

Setting

Five states with a high population of Mexican-Americans (California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Texas).

Participants

A total of 74,343 persons (9.26% black, 11.28% Hispanic, 79.46% non-Hispanic white) in a NH located in 1 of these 5 states during the last quarter of 2000.

Measurements

The prevalence of Stage II-IV pressure ulcers was examined in the last quarter of 2000. Stage II-IV pressure ulcers, resident demographics, and medical illness data were documented by nursing staff on the MDS.

Results

Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks had a higher prevalence of pressure ulcers than non-Hispanic whites (7.60%, 9.71% and 12.10%, respectively). A facility's concentration of Hispanic residents was associated with prevalent pressure ulcers after adjustment for resident characteristics.

Conclusions

Residents in nursing homes in which there is a higher concentration of Hispanic residents are more likely to have a pressure ulcer.

Keywords: Hispanics, nursing homes, disparities, pressure ulcer