Profiles of nursing home residents with multiple sclerosis using the minimum data set

This paper profiles nursing home residents with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the time of admission, including sociodemographic characteristics, health s tatus measures, and treatments received. Admission assessments from the Min imum Data Set ore used to create these profiles of residents with MS. There ore 9013 admission assessments in the MDS for residents with MS between Ju ne 22, 1998 and January 17, 2000 analyzed for this study. Residents with MS are distinctly younger at admission than most nursing home residents, aver aging 57.98 years of age. Recently admitted residents with MS are more phys ically dependent than other nursing home residents and tend to have limited range of motion and loss of voluntary movement About one in three newly ad mitted residents with MS had some degree of impaired cognitive function. Ov er one third of residents with MS were depressed at admission, yet only 11. 7% of recently admitted residents with MS were evaluated by a licensed ment al health specialist This prompts concern about the psychosocial well-being of MS residents in nursing homes.