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Functional Status of Mexican American Nursing Home Residents
Author(s) -
Chiodo Laura K.,
Kanten Dean.,
Gerety Meghan B.,
Mulrow Cynthia D.,
Cornell John E.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1994.tb01754.x
Subject(s) - medicine , toileting , ethnic group , mexican americans , gerontology , activities of daily living , residence , nursing homes , referral , medicaid , demography , family medicine , physical therapy , nursing , health care , sociology , economic growth , anthropology , economics
Objective To compare sociodemographic characteristics, physical function, and cognition of Mexican American and non‐Hispanic white nursing home residents. Design and Setting Cross‐sectional survey of residents in eight proprietary nursing homes and one Veterans Affairs nursing home in San Antonio, Texas. Subjects Residents with lengths of stay greater than or equal to 90 days. Measurements Sociodemographic characteristics, residence prior to admission, and dependency in activities of daily living (ADL) were abstracted from the medical record. The Folstein Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) was administered in the resident's self‐selected language to a subset of residents. Main Results There were 1160 participants, 261 Mexican American (23%) and 899 non‐Hispanic white residents (77%). Mexican Americans were younger (77.1 vs 80.7 years), more often men (44% vs 30%), less educated (6.2 vs 10.8 years), and more often dependent on Medicaid funding (66% vs 40%) than non‐Hispanic whites. Mexican Americans were less independent in feeding (34% vs 49%), transfers (18% vs 30%), toileting (19% vs 29%), and dressing (12% vs 19%). Mean MMSE scores were different in Mexican Americans and non‐Hispanic whites (8.93 vs 11.85), and this difference remained significant after adjustment for age and education ( P = 0.04). ADL function was strongly associated with MMSE ( P = 0.0001) and less strongly associated with ethnicity ( P = 0.056) in multiple regression analysis. Conclusions This study provides the strongest evidence to date that Mexican American nursing home residents are more cognitively and functionally impaired than non‐Hispanic white residents. Further studies should explore whether medical conditions, selection and referral patterns or cultural factors explain functional differences between Mexican American and non‐Hispanic white nursing home residents.