Health and Medical Services Use: A Matched Case Comparison Between CCRC Residents and National Health and Retirement Study Samples

Abstract

Little is known about the health status of adults living in continuing care retirement communities (CCRC). Using matched-case control, 458 adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) or a CCRC-based sample were compared on total comorbidity, self-rated health, home health services use, and hospitalizations. At year 2, the CCRC sample reported more comorbidities (96%) but significantly better self-rated health (96% good/excellent) than the HRS sample (93% comorbidity, 73% good/excellent; p < .01). There were no significant differences in frequency of home health use or hospitalization. Living in a CCRC appears to be associated with higher self-ratings of health in this sample.

The Association between Sleep Problems, Sleep Medication Use, and Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Results from the Health and Retirement Study 2010

“…Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) included ability to use the phone, shopping, preparing for food, responsibility for own medications, and ability to handle finances. The number of limitations in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) was the sum of any difficulties on these five tasks [ 21 , 24 ]. Limitations in mobility included difficulty in any of the following tasks such as walking one block, walking several blocks, waking across a room, climbing one flight of stairs, and climbing several flights of stairs.…”

Quality of Life Trajectories of Older Adults Living in Senior Housing

“…The prevalence of chronic illness among older Americans suggests a high burden of disease and functional impairment in later life. About 80% of older adults have one chronic condition, and 68% have two or more chronic conditions (Centers for Disease Control, 2013), and this may be higher for older adults living in retirement communities (Gaines, Poey, Marx, Parrish, & Resnick, 2011). A recent study found that impairments in functional health, depression, and memory problems were significantly related to worse QoL among older people in the United States (Baernholdt, Hinton, Yan, Rose, & Mattos, 2012).…”

Should I've stayed or should I've gone? What residents of continuing care retirement communities and former candidates think and feel one year after their decision: a quantitative longitudinal comparison

“…They found that CCRC residents were at less risk for activities of daily living (ADL) limitations and had better self-reported health two years after baseline measure. Gaines et al (2011) obtained similar results when comparing CCRC residents to community-dwelling older adults from the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS). They found that at follow-up two years later, CCRC residents reported more comorbidities, while having better subjective health.…”

“…Gaines et al . (2011) compared CCRC-based or community-based older adults from the HRS, and found no difference in objective health between residents and non-residents. They found, however, better subjective health among CCRC residents.…”

“…However, her baseline measure was performed one year after moving into the CCRC, which could result in bias. As for health, one study found that, while indices of objective health indicated deterioration, subjective health remained stable (Gaines et al ., 2011). Others have followed the occurrence and impact of depression over a two-year period.…”