How Medicare rules affect end-of-life care for nursing home residents with Alzheimer's or related dementia
Impact of Medicare policies on disparities at the end of life care among nursing home residents with Alzheimer's diseases or related dementia
This project looks at whether Medicare policy changes change racial differences in hospice use and other end-of-life care for nursing home residents with Alzheimer's or related dementias.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northeastern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11126664 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your loved one is a nursing home resident with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia, this project will look at Medicare and nursing home records to compare care before and after recent Medicare policy changes. The team will examine hospice enrollment, hospital transfers, ER visits, feeding tube use, and aggressive medication use for residents with ADRD. Researchers will compare outcomes for Black and White residents and use large administrative datasets and statistical methods to account for health and facility differences. The goal is to see whether auditing and payment policy changes shifted care toward more comfort-focused hospice or toward more aggressive end-of-life interventions.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are long-stay nursing home residents in the U.S. with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias, especially those near the end of life and covered by Medicare.
Not a fit: People without dementia, those who are not nursing home residents, non-Medicare beneficiaries, or residents outside the U.S. are unlikely to be affected by this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could inform Medicare policies that reduce racial disparities and increase timely, comfort-focused hospice care for people with ADRD in nursing homes.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has documented racial differences in aggressive versus hospice end-of-life care and shown that policy changes can shift hospice patterns, but applying these analyses specifically to the 2014 Medicare auditing initiative and its effect on disparities is a newer focus.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Northeastern University — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Ning — Northeastern University
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Ning
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.