Admissions of COVID-positive patients to US nursing homes with personal protective equipment or staffing shortages.

BACKGROUND: US nursing homes are required to follow Centers for Disease Control guidance for COVID-19 transmission-based precautions (TBP) when admitting COVID-positive patients. OBJECTIVE: To assess how frequently nursing homes had shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) or staffing in weeks when they admitted COVID-positive patients, which likely made it more difficult to follow TBP, and to compare facility characteristics by admissions practices. DESIGN AND SETTING: Facility-level data from the Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File for the period between June 7, 2020 and March 7, 2021 was combined with additional data. The percentages of nursing homes that admitted COVID-positive patients and that had shortages when admitting were calculated for each week. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between facility characteristics and the likelihood of admitting COVID-positive patients. MEASUREMENTS: Facilities were categorized as having admitted COVID-positive patients in a week if one or more admissions requiring TBP were reported for that week. Facilities that reported having less than a 1-week supply of any type of PPE or being short any type of staff in a week were defined, respectively, as having a PPE shortage or staffing shortage in that week. RESULTS: Over the 40-week study period, 39% of US nursing homes admitted COVID-positive patients in at least 1 week in which they were experiencing PPE or staffing shortages. Facilities that admitted COVID-positive patients with shortages generally had lower Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services overall five-star ratings than other facilities. Only a small percentage of facilities that admitted COVID-positive patients while facing shortages were located in counties with severe shortages of PPE or staffing. In logistic regression models, shortages were not associated with COVID-positive admissions. CONCLUSION: The widespread practice of admitting COVID-positive patients while facing shortages may have put nursing home residents and staff at heightened risk of COVID-19 infection.

Workers at long-term care facilities and their risk for severe COVID-19 illness.

Given the high concentration of COVID-19 cases in long-term care (LTC) facilities in the United States, individuals working in these facilities are at heightened risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Using data from the nationally-representative 2017 and 2018 National Health Interview Surveys on adults who reported working in LTC facilities, this study examines the extent to which LTC workers are also at increased risk or potentially at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 including hospitalization, intubation, or death. We used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's list of conditions placing individuals in these risk categories to the extent possible. We also examined the sociodemographic characteristics of LTC workers by occupation and COVID-19 illness severity risk status. One percent (552 out of 52,159) of the weighted NHIS sample worked in LTC facilities. Workers in LTC facilities were disproportionately Black, female, and low income. Half of LTC workers (50%) were at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and another 19.6% were potentially at increased risk. There were few significant differences in demographic characteristics between risk groups, though those at increased risk had lower educational attainment and recent trouble affording prescription medications. Despite the high degree of vulnerability of both LTC residents and workers to severe illness from COVID-19, many LTC facilities still have inadequate supplies of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 tests. Given that state budget deficits due to the COVID-19 pandemic limit the potential for state actions, enhanced federal efforts are needed to protect LTC residents and staff from COVID-19.

State Actions and Shortages of Personal Protective Equipment and Staff in U.S. Nursing Homes.

BACKGROUND: It is crucial that nursing homes have adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and staff to protect residents and staff from COVID-19. Some states have taken actions to mitigate shortages of PPE and staffing in nursing homes, including creating dedicated long-term care (LTC) teams and supporting staffing capacity. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether state actions and nursing home characteristics are associated with shortages of PPE and staffing. DESIGN AND SETTING: Facility-level data, released July 31, 2020, from the Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File, were combined with data from other sources. Our sample was the 13,445 facilities with information about PPE and staffing shortages for each of the 5 weeks between the week ending June 21, 2020, and the week ending July 19, 2020. Associations between facility characteristics and shortages were examined using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. MEASUREMENTS: Outcome variables were whether or not a facility lacked a 1-week supply of PPE ("PPE shortage") and whether or not a facility had a staffing shortage during 1 or more weeks over the 5-week study period. RESULTS: Over the 5-week study period, 27.6% of facilities reported 1 or more weeks of PPE shortage, 30.2% of facilities reported at least 1 week of staffing shortage, and 46.5% of facilities lacked PPE and/or staff. Facilities located in states in the Northeast PPE Consortium or with LTC teams were modestly less likely to have had a PPE shortage, and facilities located in states that implemented processes to match job seekers with LTC facilities were marginally significantly less likely to have had a staffing shortage. CONCLUSION: Given that nearly half of U.S. nursing homes recently faced a shortage of PPE and/or staff, and that state budget deficits may limit further state actions, ongoing federal assistance with PPE and staffing of nursing homes is needed.

Eye Care Provider Availability for the Medicare Population in U.S. States That Have Expanded Optometrist Scope of Practice.

SIGNIFICANCE: Estimating a broader set of measures of local eye care provider availability than used in prior research offers information that is useful for policy decisions related to access to eye care. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether policy-relevant information was gained when measures of local eye care provider availability in addition to the estimated travel time (ETT) to the closest provider were estimated for the population 65 years or older in Kentucky, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. These states have expanded surgical scope of practice for optometrists. METHODS: This study used block group-level population data from the 2010 U.S. Decennial Census and eye care provider office address information from the 2016 Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data. Geographic information system analysis was used to calculate ETTs between individuals and eye care providers. Expanded measures of availability included the difference in ETT to an individual's second closest and closest ophthalmologist, the difference in ETT to an individual's closest ophthalmologist and closest optometrist, and whether only one ophthalmologist at the closest office accepted Medicare. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each state and by urbanicity. RESULTS: Of the population 65 years or older in each state, between 10.8 (Kentucky) and 16.6% (Oklahoma) had a one-way ETT to the second closest ophthalmologist >15 minutes longer than to the closest ophthalmologist, between 21.1 (Kentucky) and 27.6% (Oklahoma) had a one-way ETT to the closest ophthalmologist >15 minutes longer than to the closest optometrist, and between 56.4 (Kentucky) and 70.0% (Oklahoma) had only one ophthalmologist at the closest office who accepted Medicare. Findings differed substantially by urbanicity. CONCLUSIONS: Using a portfolio of travel time-based measures enhances the understanding of local eye care provider availability.

Estimates of the Percentage of US Adults With Diabetes Who Could Be Screened for Diabetic Retinopathy in Primary Care Settings.

Importance: Prior studies found that screening for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in primary care settings using telemedicine increased screening rates among individuals with diabetes. This finding has led to interest in expanding the use of primary care-based screening for DR. Objective: To estimate the percentages of US adults with diabetes and high-risk US adults with diabetes who have regular contact with primary care physicians and therefore could potentially receive timely screening for DR in primary care settings. Design, Setting, and Participants: The empirical analyses used data from the cross-sectional population-based 2016 National Health Interview Survey on US adults 18 years or older with self-reported diabetes (n = 3229). Based on previous research, individuals who had lower income, lower educational levels, or type 2 diabetes; who were African American or Hispanic, uninsured, or not using insulin or oral medication for diabetes; or who did not have DR were defined as being at high risk of missing recommended eye examinations. Data were collected throughout 2016 and analyzed from July 17 through November 5, 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes were whether an individual visited a primary care physician and whether an individual missed having a dilated eye examination in the past year. Results: The survey sample included 3229 participants. Using weighted percentages of the full sample, 15.3% (95% CI, 13.8%-17.0%) had lower income, 19.7% (95% CI, 17.8%-21.6%) had lower educational levels, 15.4% (95% CI, 13.5%-17.4%) were African American, 16.0% (95% CI, 13.7%-18.6%) were Hispanic, 6.1% (95% CI, 4.9%-7.5%) were uninsured, and 50.1% (95% CI, 47.7%-52.4%) were female; the mean age was 60.1 years (95% CI, 59.4-60.8 years). In addition, 87.7% (95% CI, 85.9%-89.3%) visited a primary care physician in the past year. Of those who did not receive a dilated eye examination in the past year, 82.2% (95% CI, 78.4%-85.4%) visited a primary care physician during the year. Except for the uninsured subgroup, more than 78% of each high-risk subgroup had visited a primary care physician in the past year. Conclusions and Relevance: Screening for DR in primary care settings has the potential to provide timely screening to a large portion of US adults with diabetes because most US adults with diabetes, including those at high-risk of missing recommended eye examinations, have regular contact with primary care physicians.

Use of and disparities in access to adaptive devices among U.S. adults with age-related eye diseases.

This paper examines adaptive device use among two samples of U.S. adults aged 40 years and older with age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma or cataracts from the 2008 and 2016 waves of the nationally-representative cross-sectional National Health Interview Survey (n = 2875 and n = 6233 respectively). Individuals who replied affirmatively to the question, "do you use any adaptive devices such as telescopic or other prescriptive lenses, magnifiers, large print or talking materials, CCTV, white cane or guide dogs?" were defined as adaptive device users. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models of adaptive device use were estimated. The main regression models used 2008 data and included explanatory variables for vision-related limitations, other functional limitations, sociodemographic characteristics and the local availability of ophthalmologists and optometrists. 6.1% of the 2008 sample and 4.2% of the 2016 sample used adaptive devices, these percentages were significantly different. 31.4% of the 2008 sample and 24.0% of 2016 sample with multiple vision-related limitations used adaptive devices, these percentages were not significantly different. Based on previous research, adaptive device use among the subgroups with multiple vision-related limitations would be expected to improve functional ability. In the regression models, the likelihood of adaptive device use increased significantly with the number of vision-related limitations, family income and local ophthalmologist availability. The regression results provide evidence of socioeconomic and geographic disparities in adaptive device use in the U.S. Together the descriptive statistics and regression results suggest that public health strategies to increase access to adaptive devices are needed.

Frequency and predictors of missed visits to primary care and eye care providers for annually recommended diabetes preventive care services over a two-year period among U.S. adults with diabetes.

This paper examines the patterns of visits to primary care and eye care providers for annually recommended diabetes preventive care services over a two-year period in a sample of U.S. adults aged 18years and older with diabetes drawn from the 2008-2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Household Component (n=3982). The four-category outcome variable was defined based on the four possible combinations of whether an individual missed an annual visit to a primary care provider for preventive care services in at least one year over the two-year period and whether the individual missed an annual visit to an eye care provider in at least one year over this period. Descriptive statistics and a multinomial logistic regression model were estimated. 51.9% of the sample missed an annual visit to a primary care or eye care provider for preventive care services over a two-year period. Although 48.8% of the sample missed at least one annual visit to an eye care provider, 85.6% of these individuals did visit a primary care provider for preventive care services during the year they did not visit an eye care provider. This suggests that primary care-based screening for diabetic retinopathy could reach most individuals who do not receive regular eye care. Regression results particularly relevant for potential interventions were that missing annual visits was significantly more likely for individuals without health insurance or a usual source of healthcare and for those who were not receiving diabetes treatments and did not have or were not aware of having diabetes-related complications.

The Local Availability of Eye Care Providers and the Vision Health of Adults in the United States.

PURPOSE: To examine whether the local availabilities of ophthalmologists and optometrists were associated with outcomes related to the prevention and timely treatment of vision conditions. METHODS: Data on adults from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey were linked to county-level information on the numbers of ophthalmologists and optometrists per capita from the Area Health Resources File. Multivariate logistic regression models were estimated for whether individuals likely to perceive themselves as being at lower risk of vision conditions had undergone a dilated eye exam in the previous 2 years, whether individuals with diabetes had a dilated eye exam in the previous year, and whether individuals with an age-related eye disease (ARED) had lost vision due to the condition. The models included measures of local eye care provider availability and additional explanatory variables. RESULTS: The county-level availabilities of ophthalmologists and optometrists were positively and significantly related to the likelihood that perceived lower-risk individuals had undergone a dilated eye exam in the previous 2 years. Local eye care provider availability was not significantly related to whether individuals with diabetes had a dilated eye exam in the previous year. Greater county-level availability of ophthalmologists, but not optometrists, was associated with a significantly lower likelihood that individuals with an ARED had lost vision due to the condition. CONCLUSION: Public health interventions may be needed in order to increase access to preventive eye care in areas with limited overall eye care provider availability and to improve the treatment of vision conditions in areas with limited ophthalmologist availability.

Dementia, medication and transitions of care.

BACKGROUND: Persons with dementia (PWD) often have complex medication regimens and are at risk of medication problems during the multiple transitions of care experienced as the condition progresses. OBJECTIVES: To explore medication processes in acute care episodes and care transitions for PWD and to make recommendations to improve practice. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted by two pharmacy researchers from a focused purposive sample of fifty-one participants (carers, health professionals, Alzheimer's Australia staff) from urban and rural Australia. After written consent, the interviews were audio-recorded then transcribed verbatim for face-to-face interviews, or notes were taken during the interview if conducted by telephone. The transcripts were checked for accuracy by the pharmacy researchers. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken independently by the two researchers to reduce bias and any disagreements were resolved by discussion. RESULTS: Themes identified were: medication reconciliation; no modified planning for care transitions; underutilization of information technology; multiple prescribers; residential aged care facilities; and medication reviews by pharmacists. Sub themes were: access to appropriate staff; identification of dementia; dose administration aids; and staff training. CONCLUSIONS: Medication management is sub-optimal for PWD during care transitions and may compromise safety. Suggested improvements included: increased involvement of pharmacists in care transitions; outreach or transitional health care professionals; modified planning for care transitions for individuals over 80 years; co-ordinated electronic records; structured communication; and staff training.

The geographic distribution of eye care providers in the United States: Implications for a national strategy to improve vision health.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the patterns of local eye care provider availability in the US. METHODS: Data from 2011 on the number of ophthalmologists and optometrists in each of the 3143 counties in the US were drawn from the Area Health Resources File. Population-weighted quartiles of the county-level number of ophthalmologists per capita and the county-level number of optometrists per capita were defined. Descriptive statistics were calculated and a cross tabulation of quartiles of ophthalmologist availability and quartiles of optometrist availability was conducted for all the counties in the US and for the set of counties in each region of the US. RESULTS: 24.0% of US counties had no ophthalmologists or optometrists. 60.7% of counties in the US were in one of the lower two quartiles of both ophthalmologist availability and optometrist availability, and 24.1% of counties were in one of the lower two quartiles of ophthalmologist availability but in one of the upper two quartiles of optometrist availability. CONCLUSIONS: Public health interventions that are effective in a context of limited local eye care provider availability or that are able to leverage optometrist availability effectively in areas with limited ophthalmologist availability could be of widespread use in the US.

Eye care availability and access among individuals with diabetes, diabetic retinopathy, or age-related macular degeneration.

IMPORTANCE Understanding whether differences in the local availability of eye care professionals are related to differences in realized access to eye care is important for assessing whether and where public health efforts are needed to increase access to eye care professionals. OBJECTIVE To examine whether the county-level availability of ophthalmologists and optometrists is associated with measures of realized access to eye care for individuals with diabetes mellitus, diabetic retinopathy, or age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We studied a cross-sectional sample of US adults 40 years and older (1098 individuals with diabetes, 345 with diabetic retinopathy, and 498 with ARMD) from the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Outcomes were whether diabetic individuals reported undergoing a dilated eye examination in the past year, whether individuals were unaware they had diabetic retinopathy, whether diabetic individuals had vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy, and whether individuals were unaware they had ARMD. RESULTS In logistic regression models that also included individual characteristics, individuals who lived in a county in the highest ophthalmologist availability quartile were less likely to be unaware they had diabetic retinopathy (predictive margin [PM], 66.1%; 90% CI, 48.8%-83.4%; vs PM, 84.1%; 90% CI, 78.7%-89.6%) and were less likely to have vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (PM, 1.4%; 90% CI, 0.9%-1.9%; vs PM, 2.6%; 90% CI, 1.8%-3.4%) than individuals who lived in a county in the lower 3 ophthalmologist availability quartiles. Individuals who lived in a county in the lowest ophthalmologist availability quartile were more likely to be unaware they had ARMD (PM, 93.8%; 90% CI, 90.6%-97.0%; vs PM, 88.3%; 90% CI, 84.7%-91.9%) than individuals who lived a county in the higher 3 ophthalmologist availability quartiles. Optometrist availability quartiles were not significantly related to any of the outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The results suggest that efforts to increase access to ophthalmologists to improve outcomes related to diabetic retinopathy or to increase awareness of ARMD should focus on improving access for diabetic individuals who live in counties in the lowest 3 quartiles of ophthalmologist availability and on individuals at risk of ARMD who live in counties in the lowest quartile of ophthalmologist availability.

Diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration in the U.S.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are two of the most common eye diseases in the U.S. Effective treatments exist for some stages of these conditions. PURPOSE: This goal of this study was to examine the frequency and predictors of unawareness of diabetic retinopathy and AMD. METHODS: The 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collected digital retinal images of survey participants aged ≥40 years that were graded for diabetic retinopathy and AMD using standard protocols. A sample of individuals with diabetic retinopathy was created, as was a separate sample of individuals with AMD. Individuals were categorized as unaware of their condition if they did not report that they had the condition. Separate logistic regression models of unawareness of diabetic retinopathy and AMD were estimated in 2011. RESULTS: This study estimated that 73% of individuals with diabetic retinopathy and 84% of individuals with AMD were unaware of their condition. The odds of unawareness of diabetic retinopathy were higher for individuals with less-severe diabetic retinopathy, shorter diabetes duration, smaller families, or who had not had a recent eye exam. The odds of unawareness of AMD were higher for individuals with "early" AMD or who were younger, less educated, or not primarily English speakers. CONCLUSIONS: The very high frequency of unawareness of diabetic retinopathy and AMD suggests that unawareness of these conditions should be a major public health concern and that efforts are needed to increase the frequency of eye exams among those at risk for these conditions.

The neighborhood food environment and adult weight status: estimates from longitudinal data.

OBJECTIVES: I used longitudinal data to consider the relationship between the neighborhood food environment and adult weight status. METHODS: I combined individual-level data on adults from the 1998 through 2004 survey years of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 with zip code-level data on the neighborhood food environment. I estimated ordinary least squares models of obesity, body mass index (BMI), and change in BMI. RESULTS: For residents of urban areas, the neighborhood density of small grocery stores was positively and significantly related to obesity and BMI. For individuals who moved from a rural area to an urban area over a 2-year period, changes in neighborhood supermarket density, small grocery store density, and full-service restaurant density were significantly related to the change in BMI over that period. CONCLUSIONS: Residents of urban neighborhoods with a higher concentration of small grocery stores may be more likely to patronize these stores and consume more calories because small grocery stores tend to offer more unhealthy food options than healthy food options. Moving to an urban area may expose movers to a wider variety of food options that may influence calorie consumption.

Developing a policy simulator at the acute-aged care interface.

This paper describes the development of a computer simulation of the interactions between the acute and aged care systems in Australia, using system dynamics modeling enhanced by agent-based techniques. National and regional simulations will be developed, enabling the impact of a variety of policy scenarios to be forecast over the next 10 years. The paper includes a description of the relevant policy environment and some of the associated key policy issues.