TABLE I.
Sample Demographics
| PT Use |
|||||
| Characteristic | Full Sample (N = 5,967) | Low: ≤5 Visits (N = 690) | Moderate: 6-9 Visits (N = 2,495) | High: 10-13 Visits (N = 2,085) | Very High: ≥14 Visits (N = 697) |
| Age (no. [%]) | |||||
| <65 yr (Medicare disability beneficiary) | 611 (10.2) | 87 (12.6) | 241 (9.7) | 213 (10.2) | 70 (10.0) |
| 65-84 yr | 4,954 (83.2) | 561 (81.3) | 2,083 (83.5) | 1,741 (83.5) | 579 (83.1) |
| ≥85 yr | 392 (6.6) | 42 (6.1) | 171 (6.9) | 131 (6.3) | 48 (6.9) |
| Female (no. [%]) | 4,044 (67.8) | 440 (63.8) | 1,638 (65.7) | 1,456 (69.8) | 510 (73.2) |
| Race (no. [%]) | |||||
| Caucasian | 5,313 (89.0) | 622 (90.1) | 2,260 (90.6) | 1,838 (88.2) | 593 (85.1) |
| African-American | 434 (7.3) | 42 (6.1) | 149 (6.0) | 173 (8.3) | 70 (10.0) |
| Other | 220 (3.7) | 26 (3.8) | 86 (3.4) | 74 (3.5) | 34 (4.9) |
| CCI (no. [%]) | |||||
| 0 | 3,166 (53.1) | 313 (45.4) | 1,383 (55.4) | 1,116 (53.5) | 354 (50.8) |
| 1 | 1,728 (29.0) | 236 (34.2) | 687 (27.5) | 597 (28.6) | 208 (29.8) |
| ≥2 | 1,073 (18.0) | 141 (20.4) | 425 (17.0) | 372 (17.8) | 135 (19.4) |
| Elective hospital admission (no. [%]) | 5,635 (94.4) | 654 (94.8) | 2,368 (94.9) | 1,960 (94.0) | 653 (93.7) |
| Median hospital length of stay (IQR) (days) | 3.0 (3.0-3.0) | 3.0 (3.0-3.0) | 3.0 (3.0-3.0) | 3.0 (3.0-3.0) | 3.0 (3.0-4.0) |
| Mean (SD) home-health-care admission ADL score (higher = worse) | 4.6 (0.9) | 4.3 (1.0) | 4.5 (0.9) | 4.7 (0.9) | 4.9 (0.9) |
| Any depressive symptoms (n = 5,766) (no. [%]) | 588 (10.2) | 82 (12.3) | 228 (9.5) | 215 (10.7) | 63 (9.3) |
| Any prior post-acute care (no. [%]) | 1,275 (21.4) | 198 (28.7) | 525 (21.0) | 434 (20.8) | 118 (16.9) |
| Any baseline dyspnea (no. [%]) | 2,963 (49.7) | 316 (45.8) | 1,143 (46.0) | 1,069 (51.3) | 435 (62.4) |
| Severe pain at baseline (no. [%]) | 1,648 (27.6) | 160 (23.2) | 682 (27.3) | 603 (28.9) | 203 (29.1) |
| Living alone (no. [%]) | 1,264 (21.2) | 168 (24.3) | 509 (20.4) | 457 (21.9) | 130 (18.7) |
| Mean (SD) duration of home health care (days) | 20.8 (11.5) | 11.0 (7.9) | 16.1 (6.9) | 24.2 (9.0) | 37.7 (12.8) |
| Rural agency (n = 5,947) (no. [%]) | 1,024 (17.2) | 120 (17.4) | 427 (17.2) | 354 (17.0) | 123 (17.7) |
| For-profit agency (n = 5,949) (no. [%]) | 3,160 (53.1) | 304 (44.1) | 1,104 (44.4) | 1,238 (59.6) | 514 (73.7) |
| Census region (no. [%]) | |||||
| South | 2,641 (44.3) | 196 (28.4) | 897 (36.0) | 1,065 (51.1) | 483 (69.3) |
| West | 836 (14.0) | 139 (20.1) | 407 (16.3) | 236 (11.3) | 54 (7.7) |
| Midwest | 1,370 (23.0) | 173 (25.1) | 654 (26.2) | 457 (21.9) | 86 (12.3) |
| Northeast | 1,120 (18.8) | 182 (26.4) | 537 (21.5) | 327 (15.7) | 74 (10.6) |