Our objective is to assess the immediate and longer-term effect of the COVID 19 pandemic on the use of long-term services and supports by high-need older adults living in the US and to understand how these impacts differ for those living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). We will draw on pre- and post-COVID-19 observations from two large, longitudinal, nationally representative surveys of older Americans, the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the National Health and Aging Study (NHATS) and their linkages to geographically based contextual data and to Medicare claims.
We will undertake three specific aims:
- Evaluate the immediate impact of COVID-19 on a comprehensive set of long-term services and supports, comparing high-need older adults with and without ADRD;
- Determine whether changes in care arrangements persist beyond the immediate shock of COVID-19 comparing high need older adults with and without ADRD;
- Assess the consequences of immediate or persistent changes in long-term services and supports measured by unmet needs and claims-based preventable health care utilization for high need older adults with and without ADRD.