Table 3. Summary of Outcomes Synthesized Narratively.
| Variable | Measurement tools or outcomes | Study conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive status | Mini Mental State Exam38 | No difference |
| Nutrition | Mini Nutritional Assessment Tool38 | No difference |
| Patient satisfaction | Unidentified questionnaire38 | No difference |
| “Patient experience” as measured by a composite score including 2 tools: Care Transition Measure 3 and Picker Patient Experience and 2 questions: whether participant recommend the hospital and how they rate their global experience36 | No difference | |
| Unidentified questionnaire41 | Slightly higher in HaH patients compared to in-hospital patients | |
| Single question to assess whether the patient would prefer HaH35 | Both HaH and in-hospital patients preferred or would have preferred HaH | |
| Morbidity due to hospitalization | Morbidity (ie, urinary tract infections, catheterization, falls, delirium, pressure sores)38 | Less urinary tract infections in the HaH group compared to the in-hospital group; no other differences |
| Respiratory infections and urinary tract infections39 | No difference | |
| Adverse events36 | One adverse event in the in-hospital patients compared with none in the HaH patients | |
| Morbidity (infections, delirium, bed sores, deep vein thrombosis, and falls)40 | Slightly lower in HaH patients compared with in-hospital patients (not statistically significant) | |
| Caregiver stress | Relative Stress Scale38,40 | One study38 found no difference in the change between in-hospital and HaH patients. The other study40 found caregiver stress of HaH patients decreased at discharge, but was higher at admission |
| Anxiety and depression | Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale35 | HaH patients showed improvement for anxiety at 14 d, not at 90 d, follow-up whereas in-hospital patients worsened |
| Geriatric Depression Scale38,39 | More improvement in HaH patients compared with in-hospital patients | |
| Quality of life | Short Form Health Surveys-3634and 1241 | No difference |
| Nottingham Health Profile38 | More improvement in HaH patients compared with in-hospital patients | |
| St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire41,42 | One study42 found no difference. The other study41 found that HaH patients improved more than in-hospital patients | |
| EuroQuality of Life Instrument 5D-5L35 | More improvement in HaH and in-hospital patients at 14 d; no difference at 90 d | |
| Functional status | Barthel Index34 | No difference |
| Katz Instrument for Activities of Daily Living and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living38 | No difference in either instruments | |
| 7-item Functional Impairment Measure and Activities of Daily Living39 | No difference in either instruments | |
| Neurologic deficit | Canadian Neurological scale39 | No difference |
| National Institutes Health Stroke Scale score39 | No difference |
Abbreviation: HaH, hospital-at-home.