scholarly journals Identification of palliative care needs among people with dementia and its association with acute hospital care and community service use at the end-of-life: A retrospective cohort study using linked primary, community and secondary care data

2021 ◽  
pp. 026921632110198
Author(s):  
Javiera Leniz ◽  
Irene J Higginson ◽  
Deokhee Yi ◽  
Zia Ul-Haq ◽  
Amanda Lucas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Palliative Care Needs

Background: Hospital admissions among people dying with dementia are common. It is not known whether identification of palliative care needs could help prevent unnecessary admissions. Aim: To examine the proportion of people with dementia identified as having palliative care needs in their last year of life, and the association between identification of needs and primary, community and hospital services in the last 90 days. Design: Retrospective cohort study using Discover, an administrative and clinical dataset from 365 primary care practices in London with deterministic individual-level data linkage to community and hospital records. Setting/participants: People diagnosed with dementia and registered with a general practitioner in North West London (UK) who died between 2016 and 2019. The primary outcome was multiple non-elective hospital admissions in the last 90 days of life. Secondary outcomes included contacts with primary and community care providers. We examined the association between identification of palliative care needs with outcomes. Results: Among 5804 decedents with dementia, 1953 (33.6%) were identified as having palliative care needs, including 1141 (19.7%) identified before the last 90 days of life. Identification of palliative care needs before the last 90 days was associated with a lower risk of multiple hospital admissions (Relative Risk 0.70, 95% CI 0.58–0.85) and more contacts with the primary care practice, community nurses and palliative care teams in the last 90 days. Conclusions: Further investigation of the mechanisms underlying the association between identification of palliative care needs and reduced hospital admissions could help reduce reliance on acute care for this population.

scholarly journals Hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life among patients with chronic disease that received early, late or no specialist palliative care: a retrospective cohort study of eight chronic disease groups

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e044196
Author(s):  
Madalene Earp ◽  
Pin Cai ◽  
Andrew Fong ◽  
Kelly Blacklaws ◽  
Truong-Minh Pham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Acute Care ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Specialist Palliative Care ◽  
Icu Admission

ObjectiveFor eight chronic diseases, evaluate the association of specialist palliative care (PC) exposure and timing with hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life.DesignRetrospective cohort study using administrative data.SettingAlberta, Canada between 2007 and 2016.Participants47 169 adults deceased from: (1) cancer, (2) heart disease, (3) dementia, (4) stroke, (5) chronic lower respiratory disease (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)), (6) liver disease, (7) neurodegenerative disease and (8) renovascular disease.Main outcome measuresThe proportion of decedents who experienced high hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life, indicated by ≥two emergency department (ED) visit, ≥two hospital admissions,≥14 days of hospitalisation, any intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or death in hospital. Relative risk (RR) and risk difference (RD) of hospital-based acute care given early specialist PC exposure (≥90 days before death), adjusted for patient characteristics.ResultsIn an analysis of all decedents, early specialist PC exposure was associated with a 32% reduction in risk of any hospital-based acute care as compared with those with no PC exposure (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.71; RD 0.16, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.17). The association was strongest in cancer-specific analyses (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.55; RD 0.31, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.33) and renal disease-specific analyses (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.84; RD 0.22, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.34), but a~25% risk reduction was observed for each of heart disease, COPD, neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. Early specialist PC exposure was associated with reducing risk of four out of five individual indicators of high hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life, including ≥two ED visit,≥two hospital admission, any ICU admission and death in hospital.ConclusionsEarly specialist PC exposure reduced the risk of hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life for all chronic disease groups except dementia.

scholarly journals Refugee-like migrants have similar health needs to refugees: a New Zealand post-settlement cohort study

BJGP Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. bjgpopen20X101013
Author(s):  
Jonathan Donald Kennedy ◽  
Serena Moran ◽  
Sue Garrett ◽  
James Stanley ◽  
Jenny Visser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Primary Care Practice ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Outpatient Service ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Health And Social Care

BackgroundRefugees and asylum seekers have specific health and social care needs on arrival in a resettlement country. A third group — migrants with a refugee-like background (refugee-like migrants) — are less well defined or understood.AimUsing routinely collected data, this study compared demographics, interpreter need, and healthcare utilisation for cohorts of refugee-like migrants and refugees.Design & settingA retrospective cohort study was undertaken in Wellington, New Zealand.MethodData were obtained for refugee-like migrants and refugees accepted under the national quota system (quota refugees), who enrolled in a New Zealand primary care practice between 2011 and 2015. Data from the primary care practice and nationally held hospital and outpatient service databases, were analysed. Age and sex standardisation adjusted for possible differences in cohort demographic profiles.ResultsThe cohorts were similar in age, sex, deprivation, and interpreter need. Refugee-like migrants were found to have similar, but not identical, health and social care utilisation to quota refugees. Primary care nurse utilisation was higher for refugee-like migrants. Clinical entries in the primary care patient record were similar in rate for the cohorts. Emergency department utilisation and hospital admissions were similar. Hospital outpatient utilisation was lower for refugee-like migrants.ConclusionThis research suggests that health, social care, and other resettlement services should be aligned for refugee-like migrants and quota refugees. This would mean that countries accepting quota refugees should plan for health and social care needs of subsequent refugee-like migrant family migration. Further research should investigate matched larger-scale national health and immigration datasets, and qualitatively explore factors influencing health-seeking behaviour of refugee-like migrants.

scholarly journals Giving Asthma Support to Patients (GASP): a novel online asthma education, monitoring, assessment and management tool

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Ram ◽  
Wendy McNaughton
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Asthma Education

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: Giving Asthma Support to Patients (GASP) is a unique online tool developed to provide asthma education at point of care, and to provide health care professionals in primary care with skills and knowledge to undertake a structured asthma assessment. ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM: A retrospective cohort study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of GASP. Data for patients aged 5–64 years seen in primary care (Waitemata region of Auckland) with uncontrolled asthma who had completed a minimum of two GASP assessments between 1 November 2008 and 17 April 2011 were extracted from a secure, self-populating database. Outcome measures were compared between each patient’s visit 1 and 2 assessments. RESULTS: A total of 761 patients provided data using GASP. There was a significant reduction between GASP assessments in the risk of exacerbations, hospital admissions, emergency department presentations, requirement for corticosteroids, and bronchodilator reliance. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT: Results from this retrospective cohort study are promising. A randomised controlled trial of the use of GASP in primary care is warranted to confirm these findings. The effectiveness of the GASP tool also needs to be further investigated in Maori and Pacific populations. LESSONS: The findings of this study of GASP show its potential and support its use in the primary care setting. KEYWORDS: Asthma; decision support techniques; primary health care, retrospective study

scholarly journals Primary care service use by end-of-life cancer patients: a nationwide population-based cohort study in the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Gao ◽  
Martin Gulliford ◽  
Myfanwy Morgan ◽  
Irene J Higginson
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Palliative Care Needs

Abstract Background End of life(EoL) care becomes more complex and increasingly takes place in the community, but there is little data on the use of general practice(GP) services to guide care improvement. This study aims to determine the trends and factors associated with GP consultation, prescribing and referral to other care services amongst cancer patients in the last year of life. Methods A retrospective cohort study of cancer patients who died in 2000-2014, based on routinely collected primary care data(the Clinical Practice Research DataLink, CPRD) covering a representative sample of the population in the United Kingdom. Outcome variables were number of GP consultations(primary), number of prescriptions and referral to other care services(yes vs no) in the last year of life. Explanatory variables included socio-demographics, clinical characteristics and the status of palliative care needs recognised or not. The association between outcome and explanatory variables were evaluated using multiple-adjusted risk ratio(aRR). Results Of 68,523 terminal cancer patients, 70% were aged 70+, 75% had comorbidities and 45.5% had palliative care needs recognised. In the last year of life, a typical cancer patient had 43 GP consultations(Standard deviation(SD): 31.7; total=3,031,734), 71.5 prescriptions(SD: 68.0; total=5,074,178), and 21(SD: 13.0) different drugs; 58.0% of patients had at least one referral covering all main clinical specialities. More comorbid conditions, prostate cancer and having palliative care needs recognised were associated with more primary care consultations, more prescriptions and a higher chance of referral(aRRs 1.07-2.03). Increasing age was related to fewer consultations(aRRs 0.77-0.96), less prescriptions(aRR 1.09-1.44), and a higher chance of referral(aRRs 1.08-1.16) but less likely to have palliative care needs recognised(aRRs 0.53-0.89). Conclusions GPs are very involved in end of life care of cancer patients, most of whom having complex care needs, i.e. older age, comorbidity and polypharmacy. This highlights the importance of enhancing primary palliative care skills among GPs and the imperative of greater integration of primary care with other healthcare professionals including oncologists, palliative care specialists, geriatricians and pharmacists. Research into the potential of deprescribing is warranted. Older patients have poorer access to both primary care and palliative care need to be addressed in future practices.

scholarly journals Timing of GP end-of-life recognition in people aged ≥75 years: retrospective cohort study using data from primary healthcare records in England

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (701) ◽  
pp. e874-e879
Author(s):  
Daniel Stow ◽  
Fiona E Matthews ◽  
Barbara Hanratty
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Place Of Death ◽  
Residential Home ◽  
Primary Care Record ◽  
Using Data

BackgroundHigh-quality, personalised palliative care should be available to all, but timely recognition of end of life may be a barrier to end-of-life care for older people.AimTo investigate the timing of end-of-life recognition, palliative registration, and the recording of end-of-life preferences in primary care for people aged ≥75 years.Design and settingRetrospective cohort study using national primary care record data, covering 34% of GP practices in England.MethodResearchOne data from electronic healthcare records (EHRs) of people aged ≥75 years who died in England between 1 January 2015 and 1 January 2016 were examined. Clinical codes relating to end-of-life recognition, palliative registration, and end-of-life preferences were extracted, and the number of months that elapsed between the code being entered and death taking place were calculated. The timing for each outcome and proportion of relevant EHRs were reported.ResultsDeath was recorded for a total of 13 149 people in ResearchOne data during the 1-year study window. Of those, 6303 (47.9%) records contained codes suggesting end of life had been recognised at a point in time prior to the month of death. Recognition occurred ≥12 months before death in 2248 (17.1%) records. In total, 1659 (12.6%) people were on the palliative care register and 457 (3.5%) were on the register for ≥12 months before death; 2987 (22.7%) records had a code for the patient’s preferred place of care, and 1713 (13.0%) had a code for the preferred place of death. Where preferences for place of death were recorded, a care, nursing, or residential home (n = 813, 47.5%) and the individual’s home (n = 752, 43.9%) were the most common.ConclusionEnd-of-life recognition in primary care appears to occur near to death and for only a minority of people aged ≥75 years. The findings suggest that older people’s deaths may not be anticipated by health professionals, compromising equitable access to palliative care.

scholarly journals Understanding which people with dementia are at risk of inappropriate care and avoidable transitions to hospital near the end-of-life: a retrospective cohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 672-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javiera Leniz ◽  
Irene J Higginson ◽  
Robert Stewart ◽  
Katherine E Sleeman
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Mental Health Provider ◽  
Healthcare Use ◽  
Hospital Data ◽  
People With Dementia

Abstract Background transitions between care settings near the end-of-life for people with dementia can be distressing, lead to physical and cognitive deterioration, and may be avoidable. Objective to investigate determinants of end-of-life hospital transitions, and association with healthcare use, among people with dementia. Design retrospective cohort study. Setting electronic records from a mental health provider in London, linked to national mortality and hospital data. Subjects people with dementia who died in 2007–2016. Methods end-of-life hospital transitions were defined as: multiple admissions in the last 90 days (early), or any admission in the last three days of life (late). Determinants were assessed using logistic regression. Results of 8,880 people, 1,421 (16.0%) had at least one end-of-life transition: 505 (5.7%) had early, 788 (8.9%) late, and 128 (1.5%) both types. Early transitions were associated with male gender (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.11–1.59), age (>90 vs <75 years OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.49–0.97), physical illness (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.20–1.94), depressed mood (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.17–1.90), and deprivation (most vs least affluent quintile OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.37–0.90). Care home residence was associated with fewer early (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.76) and late (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.97) transitions. Early transitions were associated with more hospital admissions throughout the last year of life compared to those with late and no transitions (mean 4.56, 1.89, 1.60; P < 0.001). Conclusions in contrast to late transitions, early transitions are associated with higher healthcare use and characteristics that are predictable, indicating potential for prevention.

scholarly journals Infection-related complications after common infection in association with new antibiotic prescribing in primary care: retrospective cohort study using linked electronic health records

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e041218
Author(s):  
Birgitta van Bodegraven ◽  
Victoria Palin ◽  
Chirag Mistry ◽  
Matthew Sperrin ◽  
Andrew White ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Tract Infection ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Antibiotic Prescribing ◽  
Common Infection ◽  
Common Infections

ObjectiveDetermine the association of incident antibiotic prescribing levels for common infections with infection-related complications and hospitalisations by comparing high with low prescribing general practitioner practices.Design retrospective cohort studyRetrospective cohort study.Data sourceUK primary care records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD GOLD) and SAIL Databank (SAIL) linked with Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data, including 546 CPRD, 346 CPRD-HES and 338 SAIL-HES practices.ExposuresInitial general practice visit for one of six common infections and the proportion of antibiotic prescribing in each practice.Main outcome measuresIncidence of infection-related complications (as recorded in general practice) or infection-related hospital admission within 30 days after consultation for a common infection.ResultsA practice with 10.4% higher antibiotic prescribing (the IQR) was associated with a 5.7% lower rate of infection-related hospital admissions (adjusted analysis, 95% CI 3.3% to 8.0%). The association varied by infection with larger associations in hospital admissions with lower respiratory tract infection (16.1%; 95% CI 12.4% to 19.7%) and urinary tract infection (14.7%; 95% CI 7.6% to 21.1%) and smaller association in hospital admissions for upper respiratory tract infection (6.5%; 95% CI 3.5% to 9.5%) The association of antibiotic prescribing levels and hospital admission was largest in patients aged 18–39 years (8.6%; 95% CI 4.0% to 13.0%) and smallest in the elderly aged 75+ years (0.3%; 95% CI −3.4% to 3.9%).ConclusionsThere is an association between lower levels of practice level antibiotic prescribing and higher infection-related hospital admissions. Indiscriminately reducing antibiotic prescribing may lead to harm. Greater focus is needed to optimise antibiotic use by reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing and better targeting antibiotics to patients at high risk of infection-related complications.

scholarly journals Primary care service use by end-of-life cancer patients: a nationwide population-based cohort study in the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Gao ◽  
Martin Gulliford ◽  
Myfanwy Morgan ◽  
Irene J Higginson
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Palliative Care Needs

Abstract Background End of life(EoL) care becomes more complex and increasingly takes place in the community, but there is little data on the use of general practice(GP) services to guide care improvement. This study aims to determine the trends and factors associated with GP consultation, prescribing and referral to other care services amongst cancer patients in the last year of life. Methods A retrospective cohort study of cancer patients who died in 2000-2014, based on routinely collected primary care data(the Clinical Practice Research DataLink, CPRD) covering a representative sample of the population in the United Kingdom. Outcome variables were number of GP consultations(primary), number of prescriptions and referral to other care services(yes vs no) in the last year of life. Explanatory variables included socio-demographics, clinical characteristics and the status of palliative care needs recognised or not. The association between outcome and explanatory variables were evaluated using multiple-adjusted risk ratio(aRR). Results Of 68,523 terminal cancer patients, 70% were aged 70+, 75% had comorbidities and 45.5% had palliative care needs recognised. In the last year of life, a typical cancer patient had 43 GP consultations(Standard deviation(SD): 31.7; total=3,031,734), 71.5 prescriptions(SD: 68.0; total=5,074,178), and 21(SD: 13.0) different drugs; 58.0% of patients had at least one referral covering all main clinical specialities. More comorbid conditions, prostate cancer and having palliative care needs recognised were associated with more primary care consultations, more prescriptions and a higher chance of referral(aRRs 1.07-2.03). Increasing age was related to fewer consultations(aRRs 0.77-0.96), less prescriptions(aRR 1.09-1.44), and a higher chance of referral(aRRs 1.08-1.16) but less likely to have palliative care needs recognised(aRRs 0.53-0.89). Conclusions GPs are very involved in end of life care of cancer patients, most of whom having complex care needs, i.e. older age, comorbidity and polypharmacy. This highlights the importance of enhancing primary palliative care skills among GPs and the imperative of greater integration of primary care with other healthcare professionals including oncologists, palliative care specialists, geriatricians and pharmacists. Research into the potential of deprescribing is warranted. Older patients have poorer access to both primary care and palliative care need to be addressed in future practices.

scholarly journals Effect of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes on preventable hospital admissions: a retrospective cohort study in Japan

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. e021294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Sasabuchi ◽  
Hiroki Matsui ◽  
Kazuhiko Kotani ◽  
Alan Kawarai Lefor ◽  
Hideo Yasunaga
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes ◽  
Access To Primary Care ◽  
The Impact ◽  
2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes

Background and objectivesThe Kumamoto earthquakes struck Kumamoto prefecture, in the southwest part of Japan in April 2016. Physical and mental disorders presenting to hospital increased after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. Impaired access to primary care due to the earthquakes may have contributed to this increase. However, it is not known whether the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes affected access to primary care. The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes on short-term health conditions by analysing ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), using administrative data from Kumamoto prefecture.DesignA retrospective cohort study.SettingResidents enrolled in National Health Insurance or Late Elders’ Health Insurance from Kumamoto prefecture, Japan.ParticipantsAll hospital admissions due to ACSCs between 15 March and 16 May in each year from 2013 to 2016.Outcome measuresACSCs are defined as conditions for which appropriate primary care interventions could prevent admission to the hospital.ResultsWe identified a total of 7921, 18 763 and 85 436 admissions for vaccine, acute and chronic preventable ACSCs, respectively, during the study period. Admissions within 7 days after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes increased to 32.6% (10.2, 59.5), 44.1% (27.0, 63.5) and 27.7% (20.2, 35.6) for vaccine-preventable, acute and chronic ACSCs, respectively. However, admissions for ACSCs did not change significantly 30 days after the earthquakes.ConclusionThe 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes were associated with increased hospital admissions for ACSCs. The impact of the earthquakes on admissions for ACSCs did not persist for more than 7 days.

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