Living alone and unplanned hospitalizations among older adults: a population-based longitudinal study

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

The association of living alone with hospitalization among the general elderly population has been rarely investigated, and the influence of common disorders on this association remains unknown.

Related collections

Most cited references 25

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

A longitudinal study integrating population, care and social services data. The Swedish National study on Aging and Care (SNAC).

Mårten Lagergren, Laura Fratiglioni, Ingalill Rahm Hallberg … (2004)

A large, national, long-term, longitudinal, multi-purpose study has been launched in Sweden--the Swedish National study on Aging and Care (SNAC). The study involves four research centers collecting data in four different areas of Sweden. The study consists of two parts: the population part and the care and services part. In the population part, a large, representative panel of elders in different age cohorts is followed over time to record and describe the aging process from different aspects. In the care and services part, a systematic, longitudinal, individually-based collection of data is performed concerning provision of care and services together with functional ability, specific health care problems, and living conditions of the recipients living in the area. The data collection in the population part of the SNAC is not yet completed. In the present article, some preliminary results are reported from the care and services part. These pertain to comparisons between the participating areas with respect to the prevalence of disability among those receiving care and social services in their ordinary homes and those receiving care in special accommodation. A comparison is also presented with regard to the amount of home help provided to subjects with a given disability. This project has several advantages. It is expected to generate a rich data base relevant for future research on aging and care and to have a direct impact on the future Swedish system of care and services for the elderly.

0 comments Cited 167 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Postdischarge environmental and socioeconomic factors and the likelihood of early hospital readmission among community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries.

Alicia I Arbaje, Jennifer Wolff, Qilu Yu … (2008)

This study attempts to determine the associations between postdischarge environmental (PDE) and socioeconomic (SES) factors and early readmission to hospitals. This study was a cohort study using the 2001 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and Medicare claims for the period from 2001 to 2002. The participants were community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries admitted to hospitals, discharged home, and surviving at least 1 year after discharge (n = 1,351). The study measurements were early readmission (within 60 days), PDE factors, and SES factors. PDE factors consisted of having a usual source of care, requiring assistance to see the usual source of care, marital status, living alone, lacking self-management skills, having unmet functional need, having no helpers with activities of daily living, number of living children, and number of levels in the home. SES factors consisted of education, income, and Medicaid enrollment. Of the 1,351 beneficiaries, 202 (15.0%) experienced an early readmission. After adjustment for demographics, health, and functional status, the odds of early readmission were increased by living alone (odds ratio or OR = 1.50, 95% confidence interval or CI = 1.01-2.24), having unmet functional need (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.04-2.10), lacking self-management skills (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.03-2.02), and having limited education (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.01-2.02). These findings suggest that PDE and SES factors are associated with early readmission. Considering these findings may enhance the targeting of pre-discharge and postdischarge interventions to avert early readmission. Such interventions may include home health services, patient activation, and comprehensive discharge planning.

0 comments Cited 75 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Return to the emergency department among elders: patterns and predictors.

E Belzile, S Cardin, Daniel J. McCusker … (2000)

1) To describe the pattern of return visits to the emergency department (ED) among elders over the six months following an index visit; 2) to identify the predictors of early return (within 30 days) and frequent return (three or more return visits in six months); and 3) to evaluate a newly developed screening tool for functional decline, Identification of Seniors At Risk (ISAR), with regard to its ability to predict return visits. Subjects were patients aged 65 years or more who visited the EDs of four Canadian hospitals during the weekday shift over a three-month recruitment period. Excluded were patients who: could not be interviewed, due either to their medical conditions or to cognitive impairment, and no other informant was available; refused linkage of study data; or were admitted to hospital at the initial (index) visit. Measures made at the index ED visit included: 27 self-report screening questions on social, physical, and mental risk factors, medical history, use of hospital services, medications, and alcohol. Six of these questions comprised the ISAR scale. Return visits and diagnoses during the six months after the index visit were abstracted from the utilization database. Among 1,122 patients released from the ED, 492 (43.9%) made one or more return visits; 216 (19.3%) returned early and 84 (7.5%) returned frequently. Earlier returns were more likely than later returns to be for the same diagnosis (p = 0.003). Using logistic regression, hospitalization during the previous six months, feeling depressed, and certain diagnoses predicted both early and frequent returns. Also, a history of heart disease, having ever been married, and not drinking alcohol daily predicted early return; a history of diabetes, a recent ED visit, and lack of support predicted frequent use. In the first month after an ED visit, return rates are highest and are more likely to be for the same diagnosis. Both medical and social factors predict early and frequent returns to the ED; patients at increased risk of return can be quickly identified with a short, self-report questionnaire. The ISAR screening tool, developed to identify patients at increased risk of functional decline, can also identify patients who are more likely to return to the ED.