RACIAL DISPARITIES IN QUALITY OF LIFE FOR NURSING HOME RESIDENTS

Nursing facility (NF) resident case-mix is changing nationally to include more minority residents. Minority residents are younger, have higher rates of mental illness, and better function than White residents. Racial segregation in NFs also means that minorities tend to live in different NFs from White residents. We investigated the interplay between minority race and living in a high proportion minority facility in Minnesota on resident-reported quality of life (QoL) using a validated QoL measures used by the state for public reporting. Both individual minority race/ethnicity and living in a high proportion minority facility were independently associated with significantly lower QoL scores, controlling for resident and facility characteristics. Interaction terms for resident race/ethnicity and high-minority facility generally resulted in similar findings, with minority residents who live in high-proportion minority facilities reporting lowest scores. Findings show the need for further focus on system-level and facility factors to address racial disparities in QoL.