Patients who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods — or communities that experience high rates of poverty, unemployment or crime — within urban cities are more likely to face delays in the start of home health care, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society on March 4.  
 
In a review of more than 73,500 home health episodes in New York City over a two-year period, there was a delayed start of care for nearly one-third of the patients, the report authors note. The study found that this chance increases with neighborhood disadvantage. Patients who lived in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods had a 13% higher risk of experiencing these delays than those with the lowest level of neighborhood disadvantage.  
 
The study examined episodes in 2021 and 2022. These delays in care are linked to poor outcomes, including emergency department visits, hospitalizations and death, the study authors note. 
 
To read the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society study, visit https://bit.ly/3DqFZzx.