Predictors of Time to Nursing Home Placement in White and African American Individuals with Dementia

Objective: This study examined the influence of racial group identification on nursing home placement (NHP) for individuals with dementia before and after adjusting for the possible mediating effects of the caregiving context as defined by stress-process variables in 215 caregiver/care recipient dyads. Method: Demographics, problem behaviors, self-care impairment, and caregiver appraisal, social support, psychological well-being, and coping were used to prospectively predict Time to NHP. Results: Race was a significant predictor of NHP with African American care recipients placed significantly slower than White care recipients. Race remained a significant predictor of Time to NHP after controlling for other variables that showed independent association with Time to NHP and stress-process variables. Discussion: Findings suggest that stress-process variables are critical factors in Time to NHP; however, these variables do not explain fully the difference in Time to NHP seen in White and African American care recipients.