THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOSITY AND NURSING HOME SERVICE UTILIZATION: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS

On any given day 3.9% to 4.2% of the US population receives nursing home (NH) care. Given the critical role NHs play in caring for older adults, research has identified various demographic, biological, psychological, and social factors associated with NH utilization. Few studies, however, have explored religiosity as a predictor; none, longitudinally. This study thus aims to examine how one’s religiosity (organizational, non-organizational, intrinsic) affects NH use. A total of n=7,564 respondents (>51 years) from the 2006 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, with no prior NH use, were assessed every two years, until 2014. Hierarchical modeling techniques (i.e., Generalized Estimating Equations Multinomial Logistic Regression) were used to model the relationship between religiosity and subsequent NH use, while controlling for other factors. Results indicate that high levels of organizational religiosity (i.e., service attendance) is associated with higher rates of NH utilization (B= 0.13, p < 0.001). Conversely, they indicate that higher non-organizational religiosity (i.e., private prayer) is associated with a lower likelihood of NH care use (B= -0.03, p < 0.05). Sex and race served as moderators in these relationships. The association between higher levels of service attendance and higher rates of NH utilization may reflect the sharing of information about available resources such as long-term care through one’s social support networks, including congregations. In contrast, individuals who were more likely to pray on their own, may lack the social support provided by congregations, and as a result, experienced more limited knowledge transfer about available resources such as NHs.