Shaping Long Term Care in America: Separate and Unequal

A research project in development at Brown University will evaluate the impacts of market forces and public policies on care for older Americans. One specific aim is to examine how residential segregation affects the provision of nursing home services. Prior research has documented the existence of different “tiers” of nursing home care that are related to poverty, a predominance of Medicaid supported residents and a disproportionate share of African American residents. This study seeks to identify the extent to which neighborhood segregation is associated with residential segregation in the nursing home which, in turn, is related to the quality of care provided to residents. PI of this portion of the project is Mary Fennell (Department of Sociology).