The Association Between Relocations and Health Outcomes in Nursing Home Residents: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Nursing home residents frequently experience relocations, impacting their health and well-being.
• Understanding the effects of these relocations is crucial for improving long-term care quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of nursing home relocations on mood, cognition, functional status, and mortality.
• To analyze both short-term and long-term effects of relocation in a large cohort.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of the Dutch InterRAI-LTCF routine care cohort (n=8603).
• Included 1250 long-stay residents (≥65 years) relocated at least once between 2004-2019.
• Used pooled logistic regression with inverse probability weighting, adjusting for confounders.

Main Results:

• Relocation was associated with increased risk of impaired cognition (HR 1.29) and activities of daily living dependency (HR 1.88) in the short term.
• Long-term effects showed similar trends for cognition and function, but a reduced risk of mortality (HR 0.88).
• Short-term mood and mortality risks were comparable between relocated and nonrelocated residents.

Conclusions:

• Nursing home relocations are linked to greater dependency and cognitive impairment.
• Further research is needed to explore potential reversed causation.
• Mood and mortality risks did not significantly differ between relocated and nonrelocated individuals.