Study Finds Relationship Between Sex and Race/Ethnicity in Pressure Injury Incidence Among Nursing Home Residents

An analysis of national Minimum Data Set (MDS) data reveals that within nursing homes, women who are Black, American Indian, or Alaskan Native have a higher incidence of pressure injury than non-Hispanic White women, while men who are racial and ethnic minorities have a lower pressure injury incidence than non-Hispanic White men. The study, entitled "Pressure Injuries in Nursing Homes: Investigating Racial/Ethnic Differences Using National Data," was conducted by the MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care in collaboration with LeadingAge NY and was published in the Journal of Long-Term Care here.

The study analyzes MDS data from 15,791 nursing homes across the U.S. between 2016 and 2017. It is believed to be one of the first studies to evaluate the relationship between race and ethnicity and an array of pressure injury-related outcomes using national nursing home data for all available racial and ethnic groups.

The results suggest that understanding the impact of race/ethnicity on pressure injury outcomes may require separation of the data by sex. The study encourages nursing homes to evaluate whether care processes have disparate effects on people of different sexes, races, and ethnicities. Data-driven strategies may prove valuable in addressing disparate pressure injury outcomes.

The study was supported by The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation.

Contact: Karen Lipson, klipson@leadingageny.org