scholarly journals Costs of inpatient hospitalisations in the last year of life in older New Zealanders: a cohort study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver W. Scott ◽  
Merryn Gott ◽  
Richard Edlin ◽  
Simon A. Moyes ◽  
Marama Muru-Lanning ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Rapidly ageing populations means that many people now die in advanced age. This paper investigated public hospital and long-term care home costs in the 12 months before death in Māori and non-Māori of advanced age in New Zealand. Methods Data from an existing longitudinal study (LiLACS NZ) was used, in which 937 older New Zealanders were enrolled in 2010. At the time of this study, 213 Māori and 241 non-Māori in the cohort had died. National Health Index numbers were linked to the hospitalisation National Minimum Dataset to ascertain public hospitalisation and care home costs in the last year of life. Results The average total publicly funded hospital and long-term care home costs in the 12 months prior to death were $16,211 and $17,351 for Māori and non-Māori respectively. Non-Māori tended to have long lengths of stay in their last year of life, and non-Māori men had the highest proportion with high costs and long lengths of stay in care homes. Costs in the last year of life were 8.1 times higher in comparison to costs for individuals who did not die in the same time period. Conclusion Despite New Zealand’s commitment to providing an equitable level of healthcare, this study illustrated that ethnic and gender disparities are still apparent at the end of life. This raises questions as to whether money at the end of life is being spent appropriately, and how it could potentially be more equitably targeted to meet the diverse needs of older people and their families.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Scott ◽  
Merryn Gott ◽  
Richard Edlin ◽  
Simon Moyes ◽  
Marama Muru-Lanning ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundRapidly ageing populations means that many people now die in advanced age. This paper investigated public hospital and long-term care home costs in the 12 months before death in Māori and non-Māori of advanced age in New Zealand.MethodsData from an existing longitudinal study (LiLACS NZ) was used, in which 937 older New Zealanders were enrolled in 2010. At the time of this study, 213 Māori and 241 non-Māori in the cohort had died. National Health Index numbers were linked to the hospitalisation National Minimum Dataset to ascertain public hospitalisation and care home costs in the last year of life. ResultsThe average total publicly funded hospital and long-term care home costs in the 12 months prior to death were $16,211 and $17,351 for Māori and non-Māori respectively. Non-Māori tended to have long lengths of stay in their last year of life, and non-Māori men had the highest proportion with high costs and long lengths of stay in care homes. Costs in the last year of life were 8.1 times higher in comparison to costs for individuals who did not die in the same time period. ConclusionDespite New Zealand’s commitment to providing an equitable level of healthcare, this study illustrated that ethnic and gender disparities are still apparent at the end of life. This raises questions as to whether money at the end of life is being spent appropriately, and how it could potentially be more equitably targeted to meet the diverse needs of older people and their families.


2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhéda Adekpedjou ◽  
George A. Heckman ◽  
Paul C. Hébert ◽  
Andrew P. Costa ◽  
John Hirdes

Abstract Background Residents of long-term care homes (LTCH) often experience unnecessary and non-beneficial hospitalizations and interventions near the end-of-life. Advance care directives aim to ensure that end-of-life care respects resident needs and wishes. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we used multistate models to examine the health trajectories associated with Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) and Do-Not-Hospitalize (DNH) directives of residents admitted to LTCH in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, Canada. We adjusted for baseline frailty-related health instability. We considered three possible end states: change in health, hospitalization, or death. For measurements, we used standardized RAI-MDS 2.0 LTCH assessments linked to hospital records from 2010 to 2015. Results We report on 123,003 LTCH residents. The prevalence of DNR and DNH directives was 71 and 26% respectively. Both directives were associated with increased odds of transitioning to a state of greater health instability and death, and decreased odds of hospitalization. The odds of hospitalization in the presence of a DNH directive were lowered, but not eliminated, with odds of 0.67 (95% confidence interval 0.65–0.69), 0.63 (0.61–0.65), and 0.47 (0.43–0.52) for residents with low, moderate and high health instability, respectively. Conclusion Even though both DNR and DNH orders are associated with serious health outcomes, DNH directives were not frequently used and often overturned. We suggest that policies recommending DNH directives be re-evaluated, with greater emphasis on advance care planning that better reflects resident values and wishes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 433
Author(s):  
Shirin Vellani ◽  
Veronique Boscart ◽  
Astrid Escrig-Pinol ◽  
Alexia Cumal ◽  
Alexandra Krassikova ◽  
...  

Due to the interplay of multiple complex and interrelated factors, long-term care (LTC) home residents are increasingly vulnerable to sustaining poor outcomes in crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. While death is considered an unavoidable end for LTC home residents, the importance of facilitating a good death is one of the primary goals of palliative and end-of-life care. Nurse practitioners (NPs) are well-situated to optimize the palliative and end-of-life care needs of LTC home residents. This study explores the role of NPs in facilitating a dignified death for LTC home residents while also facing increased pressures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current exploratory qualitative study employed a phenomenological approach. A purposive sample of 14 NPs working in LTC homes was recruited. Data were generated using semi-structured interviews and examined using thematic analysis. Three categories were derived: (a) advance care planning and goals of care discussions; (b) pain and symptom management at the end-of-life; and (c) care after death. The findings suggest that further implementation of the NP role in LTC homes in collaboration with LTC home team and external partners will promote a good death and optimize the experiences of residents and their care partners during the end-of-life journey.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 310-319
Author(s):  
Alexandra Papaioannou ◽  
Afeez Abiola Hazzan ◽  
George Ioannidis ◽  
Denis O'Donnell ◽  
Daphne Broadhurst ◽  
...  

BackgroundTypically, long-term care home (LTCH) residents are transferred to hospital to access intravenous (IV) therapy. The aim of this study was to pilot-test an in-home IV therapy service, and to de-scribe outcomes and key informants’ perceptions of this service.MethodThis service was pilot-tested in four LTCH in the Hamilton-Niagara region, Ontario. Interviews were conducted with six caregivers of residents who received IV therapy and ten key informants representing LTC home staff and service partners to assess their perceptions of the service. A chart review was conducted to describe the resident population served and service implementation.ResultsTwelve residents received IV therapy. This service potentially avoided nine emergency department visits and reduced hospital lengths of stay for three residents whose IV therapy was initi-ated in hospital. There were no adverse events. The service was well received by caregivers and key informants, as it provided care in a familiar environment and was perceived to be lessstressful and better quality care than when provided in hospital. ConclusionIV therapy is feasible to implement in LTCHs, particularly when there are supportive resources available and clinical pathways to support decision-making. This service has the potential to increase capacity in LTCHs to provide medical care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 39-39
Author(s):  
Katie Aubrecht ◽  
Ivy Bourgeault ◽  
Tamara Daly

Abstract Intersectionality is a useful method (Lutz, 2015) for interdisciplinary long-term care (LTC) research to advance a more critical understanding of how experiences of quality are shaped by mutually reproducing social divisions, identities and relations of power that shape LTC. This paper discusses insights from the “Mapping Care Relationships” stream of the Seniors – Adding Life to Years (SALTY) project, a pan-Canadian program of research examining clinical, social and policy perspectives on quality in LTC. “Mapping Care Relationships” mapped how promising approaches to care relationships are organized and experienced in LTC. From January 2018-August 2019 our team of nine researchers conducted rapid ethnographies in eight nursing homes, two in each of four provinces across Canada. We purposively observed and interviewed workers from a wide variety of positions and backgrounds, informed by an intersectionality approach. We traced how promising approaches in person-centred dementia care (PCDC) in particular may reify the subordinated status of care workers (some more than others) and reinforce inequities within LTC systems. In multiple LTC homes, front-line care workers described experiencing physical and emotional harm in care relationships with residents which caused them distress. However, consistent with a PCDC approach, the harm was attributed to ‘behaviours’ clinically symptomatic of dementia. In framing power differentials from a medical perspective, PCDC makes it possible to interpret harmful experiences as 'part of the job’ and something workers should know to expect, prevent, avoid, redirect, or ignore. Lutz, H. (2015). Intersectionality as method. DiGeSt. Journal of diversity and gender studies, 2(1-2), 39-44.


Author(s):  
J. Jbilou ◽  
A. El Bouazaoui ◽  
B. Zhang ◽  
J.L. Henry ◽  
L McDonald ◽  
...  

Older adults living in long-term care facilities typically receive insufficient exercise and have long periods of the day when they are not doing anything other than sitting or lying down, watching television, or ruminating (Wilkinson et al., 2017). We developed an intervention called the Experiential Centivizer, which provides residents with opportunities to use a driving simulator, watch world travel videos, and engage in exercise. We assessed the impact of the intervention on residents of a long-term care home in Fredericton, NB, Canada. In this paper, we report on the results observed and highlight the lessons learned from implementing a technological intervention within a long-term care setting. Practical and research recommendations are also discussed to facilitate future intervention implementation in long-term care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 176-176
Author(s):  
Hiroto Yoshida ◽  
Yuriko Kihara

Abstract This study examined the impact of frailty on medical and long-term care expenditures in an older Japanese population. The subjects were those aged 75 years and over who responded to the survey (March 2018) in Bibai, Hokkaido, Japan (n=1,203) and have never received certification of long-term care insurance at the survey. We followed up 867 individuals (72.1%) until the end of December 2018 (10 month-period). We defined frailty as a state in performing 4 items and over of 15 items which were composed of un-intentional weight loss, history of falls, etc. Among 867 subjects, 233 subjects (26.9%) were judged to be frailty group, and 634 subjects (73.1%) non-frailty group. We compared period to the new certification of long-term care insurance (LTCI), accumulated medical and long-term care expenditures adjusted for age and gender between the two groups during the follow-up period. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association between baseline frailty and the new certification of LTCI. The relative hazard ratio (HR) was higher in frailty group than non-frailty group (HR=3.51, 95% CI:1.30-9.45, P=.013). The adjusted mean accumulated medical and long-term care expenditures per capita during the follow-up were significantly (P=.002) larger for those in the frailty group (629,699 yen), while those in the non-frailty group were 450,995 yen. We confirmed strong economic impact of frailty in the elderly aged 75 or over in Japan.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 185-185
Author(s):  
Rachel McPherson ◽  
Barbara Resnick ◽  
Elizabeth Galik

Abstract Communication and interactions are an integral part of care in long-term care settings. Resident variables, such as race and gender, shape communication and interaction between staff and residents. The Quality of Interactions Schedule (QuIS) was developed to measure the quality of verbal and nonverbal interactions among nursing staff and older adults initially for those in acute care and later used as well in a variety of long term care settings. A quantified measurement of the quality of interactions between residents and staff was created to quantify the QuIS. The purpose of this study was to describe the gender and racial differences in scored quality of interactions. Data for the present study was based on baseline data from the Evidence Integration Triangle for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (EIT-4-BPSD) implementation study. A total of 535 residents from 55 settings were included in the analyses. An analysis of covariance was conducted to determine a difference in QuIS scores between males and females while controlling for age. The second model tested for differences in QuIS scores between blacks and whites while controlling for age and gender. There was not a statistically significant difference in QuIS scores between male and female residents. There was a significant difference in QuIS scores between those who were black versus white, such that those who were black received more positive interactions from staff than those who were white. Future work should focus on a deeper examination of resident factors and staff factors that may influence these interactions.


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