Narrowing the Disparities Gap in LTSS: Policy and Practice

Thursday, November 3, 2022

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Location: 236 CC

CE: 1.5

Chair(s)

Rita Choula, MA

Director, Caregiving
PPI
AARP Public Policy Institute
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

Selena Caldera, MPP

Sr. Strategic Policy Advisor
PPI
AARP
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Rita Choula, MA

Director, Caregiving
PPI
AARP Public Policy Institute
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Shekinah Fashaw-Walters, PhD, MSPH

Assistant Professor
Health Policy & Management
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Access to and the quality of long-term supports and services (LTSS) are not equitable for all older Americans. Disparities have been documented qualitatively and quantitatively for marginalized racial and ethnic communities and LGBTQI+ communities but the specific causes of gaps in equity differ by community, locality, and state. To be effective, policy solutions must be grounded in the lived experiences of Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and LGBTQI+ older adults in those communities. This symposium showcases how community-based research can be employed to understand the root causes of inequities in LTSS access and care affecting older adults of color and LTGBTQI+-identifying older adults and presents community-grounded policy solutions to remedy those inequities. Papers 1 and 2 use participatory research methods to understand barriers to equitable LTSS care access and quality and develop locally grounded solutions to those barriers. Caldera (Paper 1) shares results from a study of Cook County, IL nursing home residents and their caregivers focused on racial and ethnic disparities in access to and experiences with nursing home care. Hado (Paper 2) presents findings from research in Georgia and New York examining disparities in access to and experiences with HCBS for older racial and ethnic and LGBTQI+ communities. Fashaw-Walters (Paper 3) discusses the how systemic racism is at the root of inequities in LTSS access for communities of color and shares actionable recommendations aimed at ending racial and ethnic inequities in LTSS policies.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this session, participants will be able to understand the importance of community-grounded, mixed methods approaches for investigating disparities experienced by racial and ethnic and LGBTQI+ older adults in access to, quality of, and experiences with LTSS.
After attending this session, participants will be able to define some common root causes of LTSS inequities for communities of color and LGBTQI+ communities and will understand that lived experiences of older adults affected by inequities should determine specific root causes in other states, counties, and cities.
After attending this session, participants will be able to consider how the identified policy solutions and recommendations may be applied to eliminate disparities in access to and experiences with LTSS for racial and ethnic and LGBTQI+ communities in their own cities, counties, and states of interest.

Presentations:

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Understanding Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Nursing Home Care in Cook County, IL
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Selena Caldera, MPP – AARP
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Narrowing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Home and Community-Based Services
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Addressing Systemic Racism Across Long-Term Services and Supports
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Shekinah Fashaw-Walters, PhD, MSPH – University of Minnesota School of Public Health