Research article summary:

Cognitive function and acute care utilization.

Abstract Extract:
OBJECTIVES: Little is known about variation in cognitive function across the aged population, or how use and costs of health care vary with cognitive impairment. This study was designed to create a typology of cognitive function in a nationally ... (Full abstract text below)

Published 2003Jan in Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci (Language : eng)

Full Pubmed Extract

This information was retrieved, real-time, on your behalf from the public area of the Pubmed website:

1. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2003 Jan;58(1):S38-49

Cognitive function and acute care utilization.

Walsh EG, Wu B, Mitchell JB, Berkmann LF

Center for Health Economics Research, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. ewalsh@rti.org

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about variation in cognitive function across the aged population, or how use and costs of health care vary with cognitive impairment. This study was designed to create a typology of cognitive function in a nationally representative sample, and evaluate acute care use in relation to cognitive function, holding constant confounding factors. By including proxy assessments of cognitive function, this is the first study to include individuals unable to respond themselves. METHODS: We analyzed the baseline year of the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) survey, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, to create three levels of cognitive function, using direct measures for self-respondents (n = 6,651) and proxy evaluations for the others (n = 792). We used a two-part model to predict the likelihood of using various health services and to evaluate intensity of care among users. RESULTS: Sixteen percent, 64%, and 20% of the sample fell into the low, moderate, and high cognitive function groups, respectively, that differed significantly on almost all demographic and health status measures, and some utilization measures. Controlling for other health and functional status measures, lower cognitive function had a significant and negative effect on outpatient services, but did not affect hospital use directly. DISCUSSION: Lower cognitive function may be a barrier to outpatient care, but these analyses should be repeated using administrative use and cost data.

PMID : 12496307 [PubMed - Indexed for MEDLINE]

This information is obtained from the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright. Type "NLM copyright" into Google for more information.

Full Author Information

First Name	LastName	Initials
Edith G	Walsh	EG
Bei	Wu	B
Janet B	Mitchell	JB
Lisa F	Berkmann	LF

Affiliation: Center for Health Economics Research, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. ewalsh@rti.org

3rd Party provider links

Click the links below to go to related 3rd party information:

MESH categories and related page links

This article was linked to the MESH categories shown on the left below. The links on the right are related Memletics pages.

Links for this article

For links to places where you can get the full text of this article see links. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text.

New! Using similar technology to this site, we have launched find-health-articles.com, targeting over 1 million health research article abstracts.

Here are some articles related to this one (by title keywords):

The acute nootropic effects of Ginkgo biloba in healthy older human subjects: a preliminary investigation.

Acute care nurses perceptions of barriers to using research information in clinical decision-making.

Somatic healthcare utilization among adults with serious mental illness who are receiving community psychiatric services.

A qualitative study of clinical decision making in recommending discharge placement from the acute care setting.

Promoting school connectedness: evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

How nurses learn advocacy.

Music therapy with imminently dying hospice patients and their families: facilitating release near the time of death.

Kids speak: effective communication with the school-aged/adolescent patient.

Adolescent girls personal experience with Baby Think It Over infant simulator.

The accuracy of self-reported healthcare resource utilization in health economic studies.

>>> Get more research article abstracts like these, or browse abstracts.

Keywords in this article:

across, acute, administrative, affect, aged, aging, ahead, analyses, analyzed, assessments, asset, barrier, baseline, care, cognitive, confounding, constant, controlling, costs, create, demographic, designed, differed, direct, directly, discussion, dynamics, effect, evaluate, evaluations, factors, fell, first, function, functional, groups, health, high, holding, hospital, impairment, include, including, individuals, institute, intensity, known, levels, likelihood, little, low, lower, measures, methods, model, moderate, nationally, negative, not, objectives, oldest, or, others, outpatient, part, percent, population, predict, proxy, relation, repeated, representative, respectively, respond, respondents, results, sample, self, services, significant, sixteen, sponsored, status, study, survey, themselves, three, two, typology, unable, users, utilization, variation, vary, year

Also, see our new free speed reading online course (beta version)