title: Analyses of male residents in community nursing facilities: comparisons of Veterans Health Administration residents to other residents.
abstract: We compared Veterans Health Administration (VHA) residents in community nursing facilities to other residents. We used all admission assessments in the Minimum Data Set throughout the United States during 2000 to identify 7,296 male VHA residents and 159,203 other male residents in community nursing facilities. Male VHA residents were significantly more independent in the self-performance of activities of daily living and less physically disabled than other male residents, with minor differences in cognitive function as measured by a Cognitive Performance Scale. Male VHA residents were more likely to have comorbidities than other male residents. Significantly larger proportions of other male residents than VHA residents received special treatments and procedures, with especially large differences for various therapies (e.g., physical therapy). We found significant differences in the demographic and clinical characteristics of male VHA residents in community nursing facilities compared with other male residents. These differences in the delivery of services may have implications for the quality of care for veterans in this setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Behavior and Administration, College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USA. rjbuchan@email.uncc.edu
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Buchanan
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Suojin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Diane C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Cowper
authors.forename: Myung Suk
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reker
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005853:Geriatrics; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans