• Mary L Davis-Ajami, Zhiqiang K Lu, and Jun Wu.
• Department of Science of Nursing Care, Indiana University School of Nursing, 600 Barnhill Drive, Indianapolis, IN, United States. Electronic address: mdavisaj@iu.edu.
• Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2022 Jan 1; 98: 104536.

ObjectiveThis study assessed home health care use associated with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD) in US community dwelling older adults, including workforce, intensity, and cost outcomes.Materials And MethodsMedical Expenditure Panel Survey (2010-2018) household and home care event files were used to identify adults ≥ 65 years with ADRD. Outcomes included home health care provider type, intensity of care use, and annual direct home care cost. All analyses applied person weights for national estimates.ResultsAmong the 20,443 eligible older adults, 4.2% (n = 843) reported ADRD. Among all professional and non-professional health care workers, nurse practitioners (NPs, 38.5%) and home health care aids (35.6%) were most used. Comparing ADRD vs non-ADRD: the annual per-person average number of days in home care was 110 vs. 64 (p<0.001) and home care costs accounted for 30.8% vs. 7.5% of total health care costs. After adjusting for participants' characteristics, those with ADRD were more likely to use home health care (OR = 4.32, 95% CI=3.29 - 5.68) and showed 229% (95% CI = 175% - 297%) higher associated costs than controls (p<0.001).ConclusionThe study provides insight into the home care workforce. Of the professional workforce NPs were most often used and home care aides dominated the non-professional workforce. As expected, ADRD increased the likelihood and intensity of home health care utilization and associated direct home care costs significantly.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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