The need for research on issues related to long-term services and supports (LTSS) in the United States is more critical than ever as the population ages and the demand for care rises. LTSS include a wide range of services that help people living with disabilities perform everyday activities, such as bathing, dressing, and managing medications. LTSS are integral to the support of older adults living with complex health conditions, like dementia. LTSS may be provided across several settings – including at home, in the community, in residential care settings (e.g., assisted living), and in nursing homes. Despite their importance, significant gaps remain in understanding how best to deliver, fund, and improve these services to meet diverse needs across different communities. Research is essential to identify effective models of care, address disparities, prepare the workforce, and create sustainable financing solutions.
We are at a critical junction in United States history. For many, especially those from the country’s most vulnerable populations, LTSS and health care access remain challenging to obtain and navigate. These challenges are the result of historical inequities in access to care as well as differences in LTSS provision across states, payors, and other place-based factors, such as rurality. Care quality is often elusive, due to the lack of consensus on definitions of quality across services such as home and community-based services (HCBS). HCBS include services like personal care, adult day services, and home-delivered meals. At the same time, the direct care workforce that delivers LTSS is both in high demand and undervalued, which is often characterized by low wages that exist alongside challenging care responsibilities. Additionally, family caregivers provide most of the care older adults living with disability receive, playing a crucial but often underrecognized role in LTSS. Further, challenges are especially impactful as it relates to dementia, which a new report estimates has an economic impact of $781 billion.
With all the challenges faced by researchers, policymakers, program leaders, individuals and families, research and collaboration have long been a cornerstone of innovation in aging and disability policy as well as health care access, delivery, and quality. The AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) has historically supported these efforts, and this year is no different. It is more important now than ever to attend this year’s ARM and learn about the work of colleagues, brainstorm new research ideas, and develop innovative strategies for translation. This year, the aging and end-of-life theme will include seven podium presentation sessions that call attention to critical issues in LTSS for older adults living with disability.
On Saturday, June 7 at 12:30pm (Mezzanine 100 AB), the podium session, Improving Health and Quality of Care through Innovative Interventions will present novel interventions that stand to improve quality of care and health outcomes for older adults and their family caregivers. On the same day at 2:15pm in 101 E, researchers part of the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Use and Quality will highlight care delivery in HCBS. Presentations will cover a range of topics, including issues related to paid family caregivers and quality measurement in HCBS. Additionally, end-of-life issues, such as home-based medical use, hospice in assisted living, and patient and family experiences of hospice care will be topics of focus in the Strengthening End-of-Life and Hospice Care session in Mezzanine 100 GH.
On Sunday, June 8, beginning at 8:00am, the Aging and End-of-Life theme will host nearly 100 poster presentations. A podium session hosted at 3:45pm on the same day, Supporting and Empowering Family Caregivers session (Mezzanine 100 GH) will include important research related to caregiver employment supports and their health and well-being. On Monday, June 9, presentations in the Supporting Older Adults Living with Disabilities Across Long-Term Care Settings session (Mezzanine 101 ABC, 9:30am) will spotlight resident care in skilled nursing facilities and memory care units. Finally, on Tuesday, June 10, the novel use of administrative claims data will be highlighted in Using Newly-Available Medicaid Claims to Understand Home and Community-Based Services Use at 8:30am in Mezzanine 100 AB. At 10:15am in 101 E, podium presentations part of the Care and Supports for Persons Living with Dementia session will highlight novel ideas in dementia care research, including living alone with dementia, as well as surgical decision-making, disparities in the use of care management services, and telemedicine use in primary care.
Podium sessions and poster presentations cover a range of topics across a variety of settings and care circumstances. Altogether, this year’s Aging and End-of-Life presentations underscore critical research needed to understand and improve LTSS and health care delivery for people living with disability and the people that help them. We can’t wait to see you in Minneapolis this June! Please find the full agenda here.