Table 1.
Characteristics of older adults with dementia in home health care following hospital discharge
| Overall (n=23,886) N (%) | Rehospitalized (n=5,752) N (%) | Not rehospitalized (n=18,134) N (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (Mean, SD) | 82.34 (8.50) | 82.37 (8.72) | 82.33 (8.43) |
| Male *** | 8521 (35.67%) | 2,165 (37.64%) | 6356 (35.05%) |
| Race ** | |||
| White | 9251 (38.73%) | 2334 (40.58 %) | 6917 (38.14 %) |
| Black | 5571 (23.32%) | 1342 (23.33%) | 4229 (23.32%) |
| Hispanic | 7166 (30.00%) | 1638 (28.48%) | 5528 (30.48 %) |
| Other | 1898 (7.95%) | 438 (7.61%) | 1460 (8.05%) |
| Insurance *** | |||
| Medicare | 17110 (71.63%) | 4287 (74.53%) | 12823 (70.71%) |
| Medicaid | 979 (4.10%) | 160 (2.78 %) | 819 (4.52 %) |
| Dual | 3284 (13.75%) | 896 (15.58%) | 2388 (13.17%) |
| Other | 2513 (10.52%) | 409 (7.11%) | 2104 (11.60 %) |
| Multiple hospitalizations (>=2) in the past 12 months *** | 9588 (40.14%) | 2862 (49.76%) | 6726 (37.09%) |
| History of falls (>=2 falls or any fall with an injury) in the past 12 months | 4935 (20.66%) | 1143 (19.87%) | 3792 (20.91 %) |
| Taking 5 or more medications *** | 18208 (76.23%) | 4583 (79.68%) | 13625 (75.14 %) |
| Presence of frailty indicators *** | 8223 (34.43%) | 2215 (38.51 %) | 6008 (33.13 %) |
| Functional status (Mean, SD) *** | 3.73 (2.04) | 4.24 (2.10) | 3.57 (2.00) |
| Overall status *** | |||
| No or temporary high health risk(s) | 18542 (77.63%) | 4044 (70.31%) | 14498 (79.95%) |
| Fragile with ongoing high risk(s) or serious progressive conditions | 5344 (22.37%) | 1708 (29.69%) | 3636 (20.05%) |
| Pain daily/all of the time *** | 8335 (34.89%) | 2119 (36.84%) | 6216 (34.28%) |
| Presence of pressure ulcer *** | 2765 (11.58%) | 1111 (19.32%) | 1654 (9.12%) |
| Surgery wound | 3319 (13.90%) | 762 (13.25%) | 2557 (14.10%) |
| Presence of urinary incontinence *** | 14778 (61.87%) | 3955 (68.76%) | 10823 (59.68%) |
| Shortness of breath *** | |||
| No short of breath | 12454 (52.14%) | 2,793 (48.56%) | 9661 (53.28%) |
| walking >20 feet | 5417 (22.68%) | 1214 (21.11%) | 4203 (23.18%) |
| moderate/minimal exertion or at rest | 6015 (25.18%) | 1745 (30.34%) | 4270 (23.55%) |
| Anxiety *** | |||
| None of the time | 14810 (62.00%) | 3495 (60.76%) | 11,315 (62.40%) |
| less often than daily | 4729 (19.80%) | 1096 (19.05%) | 3633 (20.03%) |
| Daily or all the time | 4347 (18.20%) | 1161 (20.18%) | 3186 (17.57%) |
| Number of comorbidities *** | |||
| 0 | 864 (3.62%) | 123 (2.14%) | 741 (4.09%) |
| 1 | 3523 (14.75%) | 629 (10.94%) | 2894 (15.96%) |
| 2 | 6083 (25.47%) | 1249 (21.71%) | 4834 (26.66%) |
| >=3 | 13416 (56.17%) | 3751 (65.21%) | 9665 (53.30%) |
| Live alone | 9300 (38.93%) | 2205 (38.33%) | 7095 (39.13%) |
| Caregiving/assistance in ADLs or IADLs | 22865 (95.73%) | 5482 (95.31%) | 17383 (95.86%) |
| Length of home health stay, days (Media, IQR) *** | 36 (23-56) | 51 (24-78) | 34 (23-50) |
| Continuity of care | |||
| Continuity of nursing care (Mean, SD) *** | 0.56 (0.33) | 0.52 (0.32) | 0.57 (0.34) |
| Continuity of total skilled home health care (Mean, SD) *** | 0.38 (0.23) | 0.35 (0.23) | 0.39 (0.23) |
| Intensity of home health care | |||
| Intensity of nursing care (Mean, SD) *** | 1.22 (0.88) | 1.44 (1.11) | 1.15 (0.78) |
| Intensity of non-nursing skilled care (Mean, SD) *** | 0.69 (0.66) | 0.56 (0.58) | 0.73 (0.68) |
| Intensity of home health aide assistance (Mean, SD) *** | 9.32 (19.32) | 10.46 (19.60) | 8.96 (19.22) |
*
p<0.05,
**
p<0.01,
***
p<0.001
Functional status was based on measures of activities of daily living.
ADLs, activities of daily living; IADLs, instrumental activities of daily living; IQR, interquartile range; SD, standard deviation.