Factors influencing transition to care homes for people with dementia in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Introduction The increasing number of people with dementia (PwD) is a significant health and financial challenge for countries. PwD often transition to a care home. This study explored factors predicting transition to care homes for PwD and the place and causes of death. Methods Data about dementia medication, care home transitions, demographic characteristics, deaths, and hospital admissions were extracted from national databases from 2010 to 2016. Results PwD (n = 25,418) were identified through prescriptions of dementia medication, from which 11,930 transitioned to care homes. A logistic regression showed that increased age, female sex, living in less deprived and urban areas, and hospital admissions predicted this transition. PwD who transition to care homes are more likely to die there. The most common cause of death was dementia. Discussion Certain demographic characteristics are significant predictors for care home transitions and they should be considered in the development of early community‐based care services to delay transitions. In the last decades, dementia has been reported more frequently in death certificates.

Long-term care use among people living with dementia: a retrospective register-based study from Sweden

“…This may indicate that people with a long time with dementia diagnosis, on average, experienced more severe symptoms entailing a need for care and support around-the-clock. Contrasting to our findings, German [ 33 ] and Irish [ 4 ] studies suggested that the care situation at home, including caregivers’ socioeconomic status, is more important for the transition to residential care than for how long time an individual has had a dementia diagnosis or severity of impairments. Higher age, female sex, and multiple comorbidities were also identified as significant risk factors for a transition to residential care of PlwD [ 4 , 34 ].…”

“…Contrasting to our findings, German [ 33 ] and Irish [ 4 ] studies suggested that the care situation at home, including caregivers’ socioeconomic status, is more important for the transition to residential care than for how long time an individual has had a dementia diagnosis or severity of impairments. Higher age, female sex, and multiple comorbidities were also identified as significant risk factors for a transition to residential care of PlwD [ 4 , 34 ]. The fact that studies from different countries find different factors that are associated with moving to residential care, given a certain level of care needs, probably reflects the different systems for social care for older people, as well as differences in social policy in general, e.g., affecting the proportion of women in the labor market, which in turn affects their availability for informal care.…”

“…Dementia is a major public health concern that affects about 55 million people worldwide and is expected to triple by 2050 [1]. Although many people living with a dementia diagnosis (PlwD) can live on their own in the early and mid-phases of the disorder, the progressive nature of the disease may bring changes in an individual's life at different stages with an increased need for support [2][3][4]. That means PlwD often have functional, cognitive, and communicative disabilities and may have challenges performing everyday tasks during the course of the disease [5][6][7].…”

Hospital admissions and emergency department visits for people with dementia

“…20 Data for transitions to care homes were extracted through the Business Services Organisation and linked through HBS based on the General Practitioners’ claims for visiting patients in nursing or care home facilities. Similar to our work on transition to care homes for PwD, 21 care homes in this article refer to long-term care settings, residential care and nursing homes. The date of death was identified through data from death certificates from the General Register Office for people who were deceased between 2010 and 2016.…”

People living with dementia using eldercare in Sweden

“…The existing literature is somewhat inconclusive in terms of the changes between different types of use of eldercare among PlwD during the last years of life. Further, the existing literature is often inadequate in estimating of the length of stay in specific eldercare settings from diagnosis until death (Mjørud et al, 2020;Zafeiridi et al, 2021). Overall, previous research on dementia is fairly under-studied on what sociodemographic factors like age, sex, and cohabitation status affect eldercare services for PlwD.…”