75 percent needed assistance with bathing, 71 percent with walking, and 62 percent with three or more activities of daily living
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 7, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Most residential care community residents in 2022 were female, non-Hispanic White, and aged 85 years or older, according to an August data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Amanuel Melekin, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues used data from the National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study to present national estimates of selected characteristics of residential care community residents in 2022.
The researchers found that most residential care community residents in 2022 were female, non-Hispanic White, and aged 85 years and older (67, 92, and 53 percent, respectively). Of the residential care community residents, about 17 percent were Medicaid beneficiaries, with the percentage varying by age. Overall, 75, 71, and 62 percent of residential care community residents needed assistance with bathing, walking, and three or more activities of daily living, respectively. Fifty-eight percent of residential care community residents had a diagnosis of high blood pressure, and 44 percent had a diagnosis of Alzheimer or other dementias.
“This brief profile of residential care community residents provides information to policy makers, providers, researchers, and consumer advocates as they plan how to best meet the needs of an aging population,” the authors write.
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