Admission to the Long-Term Care Facilities and Institutionalization Rate in Community-Dwelling Frail Adults: An Observational Longitudinal Cohort Study

• Published in: Healthcare (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 317
• Main Authors: Gentili, Susanna, Riccardi, Fabio, Gialloreti, Leonardo Emberti, Scarcella, Paola, Stievano, Alessandro, Proietti, Maria Grazia, Rocco, Gennaro, Liotta, Giuseppe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 07.02.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: admission rate; Age; assisted living facilities; Cohort analysis; Comorbidity; Education; frail older adult; Frailty; Gender; Institutionalization; Long term health care; long-term care; Nursing homes; Older people; Questionnaires; residential facilities; Self sufficiency; Social support; Sociodemographics; Systematic review; Italy; institutionalization; nursing home placement; residential facilities; admission rate; long-term care; community-dwelling older adults; assisted living facilities; frail older adult; nursing homes; multidimensional frailty
• ISSN: 2227-9032; 2227-9032
• DOI: 10.3390/healthcare10020317

The worldwide aging and the increase of chronic disease impacted the Health System by generating an increased risk of admission to Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities for older adults. The study aimed to evaluate the admission rate to LTC facilities for community-dwelling older adults and investigate factors associated with these admissions. A secondary data analysis stemming from an observational longitudinal cohort study (from 2014 to 2017) was performed. The sample was made up by 1246 older adults (664 females and 582 males, mean age 76.3, SD ± 7.1). The LTC facilities access rate was 12.5 per 1000 observations/ year. Multivariable Linear Regression identified frailty, cardiovascular disease, and incapacity to take medicine and manage money as predictors of the LTC facilities' access rate. The Multiple Correspondence Analysis identified three clusters: those living at home with comorbidities; those living in LTC facilities who are pre-frail or frail; those very frail but not linked to residential LTC. The results indicate that access to LTC facilities is not determined by severe disability, severe comorbidity, and higher frailty levels. Instead, it is related to moderate disability associated with a lack of social support. Therefore, the care policies need to enhance social interventions to integrate medical, nursing, and rehabilitative care.