Longitudinal analysis of inpatient care utilization among people with intellectual disabilities: 1999-2002

• Published in: Journal of intellectual disability research Vol. 51; no. 2; pp. 101 - 108
• Main Authors: Loh, C.-H., Lin, J.-D., Choi, I.-C., Yen, C.-F., Hsu, S.-W., Wu, J.-L., Tang, C. C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2007; Blackwell Publishing; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Analysis; Background; Biological and medical sciences; Catchment Area (Health); Child; Child, Preschool; Cohort Analysis; Demography; Disability; Female; Foreign Countries; health management; Health Promotion; Health services utilization; Health Status; Hospitalization; Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Inpatient care; institution; Intellectual Disability; Intellectual Disability - epidemiology; Intellectual Disability - rehabilitation; Learning disabilities; Learning disabled people; Longitudinal Studies; longitudinal study; Male; Medical Care Evaluation; Medical sciences; Medical Services; Mental health; Mental Retardation; Needs Assessment; Patient care; Patients; Predictor Variables; Prevalence; Prevention. Health policy. Planification; Program Descriptions; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Residential Care; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Taiwan; Taiwan (Taipei); Taiwan - epidemiology; Taiwan; Taiwan (Taipei); Asia; Social environment; Human; Multiple handicap; Use; Mental health; Developmental disorder; Hospitalization; Health service; longitudinal study; Mental retardation; Recommendation; institution; Treatment; Health policy; inpatient care; Follow up study; Intellectual deficiency; Public health; health management
• ISSN: 0964-2633; 1365-2788
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00822.x

Background  There has been no longitudinal study in Taiwan to identify the nature and the scale of medical care utilization of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) up to the present. The aim of this study is to describe inpatient utilization among people under ID care in institutions in order to identify the pattern of medical care needs and the factors affecting utilization in Taiwan. Method  The subject cohort was 168 individuals with ID who were cared for by a large public disability institution from 1999 to 2002 in Taipei, Taiwan. Results  On the examination of the inpatient care that these persons underwent, it was found that these individuals had a heightened need (inpatient rate: 10.1–14.9%) for inpatient care compared with the general population with disabilities (9.37%) in Taiwan. The main reasons for hospitalization were pneumonia, gastrointestinal disorders, cellulites, orthopaedic problems, epilepsy and bronchitis. Using the full model of Generalized Estimating Equations for inpatient care utilization, the factors including low income family, living in an institution, being a subject with cerebral palsy and being a high outpatient user all influenced the use of inpatient care. Conclusions  This study highlights that health authorities need to promote health planning more in order to ensure an excellent quality of health monitoring and health promotion among people with ID cared for by institutions.