Table 4.
Association of caregiver and patient characteristics with outpatient medical follow-up (specialist outpatient care) 0–3 months post-stroke
| Variable | Reference category | SOC Visits (0 - 3 months) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRR (95% CI) | P-value | aIRRa (95% CI) | P-value | ||
| Caregiver factors | |||||
| Age (in years) | 0.999 (0.992, 1.006) | 0.780 | |||
| Gender | Male | 1.187 (0.951, 1.483) | 0.130 | ||
| Ethnicity | Non-Chinese | 0.992 (0.827, 1.191) | 0.934 | ||
| Marital status | Single | 0.975 (0.784, 1.213) | 0.820 | ||
| Caregiver relationship | Spouse | 0.380 | |||
| Adult-child | 0.959 (0.782, 1.175) | ||||
| Sibling | 0.946 (0.588, 1.522) | ||||
| Others | 0.680 (0.441, 1.049) | ||||
| Comorbid conditions | None | 0.857 | |||
| 1 | 1.021 (0.818, 1.274) | ||||
| 2 | 0.875 (0.626, 1.223) | ||||
| ≥3 | 0.955 (0.683, 1.335) | ||||
| Co-residing with patient | No | 1.269 (0.927, 1.736) | 0.137 | ||
| Caring for multiple care recipients | No | 0.977 (0.813, 1.175) | 0.807 | ||
| Revised memory and behavior checklist | |||||
| Memory problems | 1.005 (0.990, 1.020) | 0.486 | |||
| Depressive behavior problems | 1.018 (1.001, 1.036) | 0.040 | |||
| Disruptive behavior problems | 1.004 (0.979, 1.028) | 0.773 | |||
| Caregiver burden | |||||
| Oberst caregiving burden scale | 1.004 (0.997, 1.011) | 0.308 | |||
| Zarit burden interview | 0.997 (0.986, 1.009) | 0.670 | |||
| Family conflict | |||||
| Attitude towards patient | 1.011 (0.991, 1.032) | 0.295 | |||
| Attitude towards caregiver | 1.013 (0.992, 1.034) | 0.233 | |||
| Social support (instrumental) | |||||
| FDW for general help | No | 1.016 (0.805, 1.282) | 0.894 | ||
| FDW for stroke patient | No | 1.085 (0.835, 1.409) | 0.544 | ||
| Social support (perceived) | 0.984 (0.966, 1.002) | 0.076 | |||
| Care management strategies | |||||
| Positive strategies | 0.996 (0.988, 1.005) | 0.396 | |||
| Negative strategies | 1.008 (0.988, 1.027) | 0.443 | |||
| Patient factors | |||||
| Age (in years) | 0.994 (0.985, 1.002) | 0.156 | |||
| Gender | Male | 1.027 (0.851, 1.240) | 0.778 | ||
| Ethnicity | Non-Chinese | 0.961 (0.801, 1.154) | 0.670 | ||
| Marital status | Single | 1.011 (0.804, 1.271) | 0.926 | ||
| Ward class | Unsubsidized | 1.111 (0.787, 1.567) | 0.550 | ||
| CCI | 1 - 3 | 0.086 | |||
| 4 - 6 | 1.137 (0.891, 1.451) | ||||
| >= 7 | 1.387 (1.032, 1.865) | ||||
| Stroke type | Non-ischemic | 0.796 (0.613, 1.034) | 0.088 | ||
| Recurrent stroke | No | 1.308 (1.045, 1.637) | 0.019 | ||
| National Institute of Health Scale | Mild (0-4) | 0.021 | |||
| Moderately severe (5-14) | 0.779 (0.639, 0.948) | ||||
| Severe (15-24) | 1.151 (0.799, 1.658) | ||||
| Modified rankin scale | No or slight disability (0-2) | ||||
| Moderate or severe disability (3-5) | 1.081 (0.898, 1.301) | 0.411 | |||
| Mini-mental state examination | No cognitive impairment (24-30) | 0.756 | |||
| Mild cognitive impairment (18-23) | 1.034 (0.835, 1.280) | ||||
| Severe cognitive impairment (1-17) | 0.928 (0.721, 1.196) | ||||
| Discharge to community hospital | No | 0.952 (0.771, 1.175) | 0.646 | ||
| Centre for epidemiological studies depression scale | 1.010 (0.994, 1.027) | 0.208 | |||
Abbreviations: IRR incidence rate ratio, aIRR adjusted incidence rate ratio, CI confidence interval, FDW foreign domestic worker
aModel adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity and ward class of the patient