Nursing Home Deficiency Citations for Abuse

Abstract

Deficiency citations for resident abuse from U.S. nursing homes from 2000 to 2007 are examined. Deficiency citations are given to nursing homes that are in violation of Medicare/Medicaid regulations and four specific deficiency citations (representing, abuse; neglect by staff; criminal screening investigating and reporting; and, abuse prevention and policy development and implementation) were examined. The data came from the Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting (OSCAR) system data ( N = 173,219) and the analyses used generalized estimating equations. Abuse deficiency citation rates were relatively stable (from 2000 to 2007), with approximately 20% of facilities per year receiving any one of these citations. For the factors of interest, few significant findings were identified for staffing levels; whereas, a high number of deficiency citations related to quality of care, high number of the most severe deficiency citations, high Medicaid reimbursement rates, and the Medicaid occupancy/reimbursement rate interaction were significantly associated with a greater likelihood of receiving a deficiency citation for abuse.