Final published version
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Identifying the Main Predictors of Length of Care in Social Care in Portugal
AU - Lopes, H.
AU - Guerreiro, G.
AU - Esquível, M.
AU - Mateus, C.
PY - 2021/8/31
Y1 - 2021/8/31
N2 - In this paper, we aim to identify the main predictors at admission and estimate patients' length of care (LOC), within the framework of the Portuguese National Network for Long-Term Integrated Care, considering two care settings: (1) home and community-based services (HCBS) and (2) nursing home (NH) units comprising Short, Medium, or Long Stay Care. This study relied on a database of 20,984 Portuguese individuals who were admitted to the official long-term care (LTC) system and discharged during 2015. A generalised linear model (GLM) with gamma distribution was adjusted to HCBS and NH populations. Two sets of explanatory variables were used to model the random variable, LOC, namely, patient characteristics (age, gender, family/neighbour support, dependency levels at admission for locomotion, cognitive status, and activities of daily living [ADL]) and external factors (referral entity, number of beds/treatment places per 1,000 inhabitants ≥65 years of age), maturity and occupancy rate of the institution, and care setting. The features found to most influence the reduction of LOC are: male gender, having family/neighbour support, being referred by hospitals to NH (or by primary care to HCBS), and being admitted to units with a lower occupancy rate and with fewer months in operation. Regarding the dependency levels, as the number of ADL considered "dependent"increases, LOC also increases. As for the cognitive status, despite the opposite trend, it was only statistically significant for NH. Furthermore, two additional models were applied by including "death,"although this feature is not observable upon admission. By creating a model that allows for an estimate of the expected LOC for a new individual entering the Portuguese LTC system, policy-makers are able to estimate future costs and optimise resources.
AB - In this paper, we aim to identify the main predictors at admission and estimate patients' length of care (LOC), within the framework of the Portuguese National Network for Long-Term Integrated Care, considering two care settings: (1) home and community-based services (HCBS) and (2) nursing home (NH) units comprising Short, Medium, or Long Stay Care. This study relied on a database of 20,984 Portuguese individuals who were admitted to the official long-term care (LTC) system and discharged during 2015. A generalised linear model (GLM) with gamma distribution was adjusted to HCBS and NH populations. Two sets of explanatory variables were used to model the random variable, LOC, namely, patient characteristics (age, gender, family/neighbour support, dependency levels at admission for locomotion, cognitive status, and activities of daily living [ADL]) and external factors (referral entity, number of beds/treatment places per 1,000 inhabitants ≥65 years of age), maturity and occupancy rate of the institution, and care setting. The features found to most influence the reduction of LOC are: male gender, having family/neighbour support, being referred by hospitals to NH (or by primary care to HCBS), and being admitted to units with a lower occupancy rate and with fewer months in operation. Regarding the dependency levels, as the number of ADL considered "dependent"increases, LOC also increases. As for the cognitive status, despite the opposite trend, it was only statistically significant for NH. Furthermore, two additional models were applied by including "death,"although this feature is not observable upon admission. By creating a model that allows for an estimate of the expected LOC for a new individual entering the Portuguese LTC system, policy-makers are able to estimate future costs and optimise resources.
KW - Dependency levels
KW - Home and community-based services
KW - Length of care
KW - Long-term care
KW - Nursing homes
KW - Portugal
KW - adult
KW - article
KW - controlled study
KW - daily life activity
KW - explanatory variable
KW - female
KW - gender
KW - human
KW - locomotion
KW - major clinical study
KW - male
KW - maturity
KW - nursing home
KW - patient referral
KW - Portuguese (citizen)
KW - primary medical care
KW - social care
U2 - 10.1159/000516141
DO - 10.1159/000516141
M3 - Journal article
VL - 39
SP - 21
EP - 35
JO - Portuguese Journal of Public Health
JF - Portuguese Journal of Public Health
IS - 1
ER -