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Original Study| Volume 22, ISSUE 10, P2115-2120.e6, October 2021

Association Between Dementia Care Programs in Assisted Living Facilities and Transitions to Nursing Homes in Ontario, Canada: A Population-Based Cohort Study

  • Derek R. Manis
    Correspondence
    Address correspondence to Derek R. Manis, MHSc, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, CRL-201, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada.
    Affiliations
    Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    ICES, Toronto, ON, Canada
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  • Ahmad Rahim
    Affiliations
    ICES, Toronto, ON, Canada
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  • Jeffrey W. Poss
    Affiliations
    School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
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  • Iwona A. Bielska
    Affiliations
    Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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  • Susan E. Bronskill
    Affiliations
    ICES, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Women's College Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
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  • Jean-Éric Tarride
    Affiliations
    Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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  • Julia Abelson
    Affiliations
    Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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  • Andrew P. Costa
    Affiliations
    Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    ICES, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Centre for Integrated Care, St. Joseph's Health System, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Schlegel Research Institute for Aging, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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Published:August 02, 2021DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2021.07.002

      Abstract

      Objective

      We investigate whether older adults who were newly diagnosed with dementia (severity unspecified) and resided in an assisted living facility that offered a dementia care program had a lower rate of transition to a nursing home, compared to those who resided in an assisted living facility without such a program.

      Design

      Population-based retrospective cohort study.

      Setting and Participants

      Linked, person-level health system administrative data on older adults who were newly diagnosed with dementia and resided in an assisted living facility in Ontario, Canada, from 2014 to 2019 (n = 977).

      Methods

      Access to a dementia care program in an assisted living facility (n = 57) was examined. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression with robust standard errors clustered on the assisted living facility was used to model the time to transition to a nursing home from the new dementia diagnosis.

      Results

      There were 11.8 transitions to a nursing home per 100 person-years among older adults who resided in an assisted living facility with a dementia care program, compared with 20.5 transitions to a nursing home per 100 person-years among older adults who resided in an assisted living facility without a dementia care program. After adjustment for relevant characteristics at baseline, older adults who resided in an assisted living facility with a dementia care program had a 40% lower rate of transition to a nursing home (hazard ratio 0.60, 95% confidence interval 0.44, 0.81), compared with those in an assisted living facility without such a program at any point during the follow-up period.

      Conclusions and Implications

      The rate of transition to a nursing home was significantly lower among older adults who resided in an assisted living facility that offered a dementia care program. These findings support the expansion of dementia care programs in assisted living facilities.

      Keywords

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