Prior living arrangements and nursing home resident admission ADL characteristics: A study of two states

Objectives es. This study examines the relationship between prior living ar rangements and average activities of daily living (ADL) function upon nursi ng home admission across two states. Methods. Minimum Data Set Plus records from 1993 and 1994 on 4,837 Medicaid reimbursed nursing home residents aged 65 years and older from two states were used. Medicaid reimbursed residents were chosen because Medicaid reimb ursement policies differ at the state level, and such differences might aff ect admission characteristics across states. Ordinary least squares models were used to examine the correlates of the number of ADL limitations (range 0-7) upon nursing home admission. Results. Residents in state A had a mean of 5.36 ADL limitations, whereas r esidents in state B had a mean of 4.83 limitations. Those who lived alone e ntered the nursing home with 0.61 fewer ADL limitations (p <.001) than thos e who lived with others. Living alone in state A reduced this association t hrough an increase of 0.31 ADL limitations (p =.012). Discussion. Older Medicaid recipients who live alone enter the nursing home with better physical function than those who live with others. The differe nce in function between those who live alone and those who live with others varies across the two states.