title: Gender Differences in Institutional Long-Term Care Transitions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study investigates the relationship between gender, the likelihood of discharge from institutional long-term care (LTC) facilities, and post-discharge living arrangements, highlighting sociodemographic, health, socioeconomic, and family characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  We use the Health and Retirement Study to examine individuals age 65 and older admitted to LTC facilities between 2000 and 2010 (n = 3,351). We examine discharge patterns using survival analyses that account for the competing risk of death and estimate the probabilities of post-discharge living arrangements using multinomial logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women are more likely than men to be discharged from LTC facilities during the first year of stay. Women are more likely to live alone or with kin after discharge, whereas men are more likely to live with a spouse or transfer to another institution. Gender differences in the availability and use of family support may partly account for the gender disparity of LTC discharge and post-discharge living arrangements.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that women and men follow distinct pathways after LTC discharge. As local and federal efforts begin to place more emphasis on the transition from LTC facilities to prior communities (e.g., transitional care initiatives under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), policymakers should take these gender differences into account in the design of community transition programs.
authors.affiliation: Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. Electronic address: mudrazij@usc.edu.
authors.forename: Stipica
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mudrazija
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
authors.forename: Mieke Beth
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Thomeer
authors.affiliation: Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
authors.forename: Jacqueline L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Angel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D016015:Logistic Models; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014481:United States