Healthcare Utilization Disparities Among Older Adults With and Without Cognitive Impairment: Health and Retirement Study Findings

The purpose of this study was to determine the healthcare utilization patterns in a national sample of older adults across several factors (ethnicity, gender, race, education) with normal and dementia/impaired cognition. We used datasets from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, 2018) to evaluate healthcare utilization, including metrics such as hospital and nursing home stays, hospice care, and the number of visits to the doctor. Logistic models were used to predict healthcare utilization separately in those with normal cognition and dementia. Our final sample comprised 15,607 adults (mean age: 65.2 normal cognition, mean age 71.5 dementia). Hispanics with normal cognition were less likely to stay in a hospital than non-Hispanic respondents (OR: 0.52-0.71, p < 0.01). Being female was associated with a higher risk for shorter nursing home days (OR: 1.41, p < 0.01) and doctor visits (OR: 1.63-2, p < 0.01) in cognitively normal older adults. Being female was associated with a lower risk for hospital stay in those with dementia (OR: 0.50-0.78, p < 0.01). Respondents identifying as Black or other races with dementia were less likely to experience nursing home days (OR: 0.42, p < 0.04). Black respondents with normal cognition were less likely to experience doctor visits (OR: 0.32-0.37, p < 0.01). Those with more than a high school education in both groups were more likely to experience doctors' visits. The study points to the continued disparities in healthcare utilization linked to participants' characteristics and cognition.