Nursing home availability for incarcerated persons granted compassionate release.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Criminology

Background:

• Aging incarcerated populations present long-term care challenges.
• Compassionate release policies aim to transition ill or aging individuals to community care.
• Nursing homes often exhibit reluctance in admitting individuals with a history of incarceration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of incarceration status on nursing home admission decisions.
• To quantify the effect of disclosing a patient's recent incarceration on admission likelihood.

Main Methods:

• A statewide secret shopper methodology was employed in Rhode Island.
• Researchers contacted 74 licensed nursing homes, inquiring about bed availability for a standardized patient.
• Patient status was progressively disclosed, moving from general inquiry to specific compassionate release from prison.

Main Results:

• Bed availability decreased from 52.5% to 26.2% after mentioning incarceration.
• Complete rejections rose from 9.8% to 44.3%, with facilities 3.41 times more likely to downgrade admission.
• For individuals with serious offenses, rejection rates reached 70.5%, with significantly increased odds of rejection.

Conclusions:

• Incarceration and criminal history demonstrably reduce nursing home access, irrespective of medical need or payment capacity.
• Significant stigma associated with incarceration creates barriers to essential long-term care.
• Policy and systemic interventions are crucial to mitigate stigma and improve care access for individuals eligible for compassionate release.