Length of stay in long-term care facilities: a comparison of residents in six European countries. Results of the PACE cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectivesThis paper aims to investigate resident, facility and country characteristics associated with length of stay in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) across six European countries.SettingData from a cross-sectional study of deceased residents, conducted in LTCFs in Belgium, England, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland.ParticipantsAll residents aged 65 years and older at admission who died in a 3-month period residing in a proportional random sample of LTCFs were included.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was length of stay in days, calculated from date of admission and date of death. Resident, facility and country characteristics were included in a proportional hazards model.ResultsThe proportion of deaths within 1 year of admission was 42% (range 32%–63%). Older age at admission (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.06), being married/in a civil partnership at time of death (HR 1.47, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.89), having cancer at time of death (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.10) and admission from a hospital (HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.43 to 2.37) or another LTCF (HR 1.81, 95% CI 1.37 to 2.40) were associated with shorter lengths of stay across all countries. Being female (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.90) was associated with longer lengths of stay.ConclusionsLength of stay varied significantly between countries. Factors prior to LTCF admission, in particular the availability of resources that allow an older adult to remain living in the community, appear to influence length of stay. Further research is needed to explore the availability of long-term care in the community prior to admission and its influence on the trajectories of LTCF residents in Europe.

The prevalence and prescribing patterns of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs in older nursing home residents in different European countries and Israel: retrospective results from the EU SHELTER study

“…The overall prevalence of BZD/Z-drug use in the NH setting was 27.7%, which correlates with findings of other studies from various European countries [3,12]. Mean age of patients in our sample corresponds to the recent study of European NH facilities (6 different European countries) reporting mean age of patients to be 83.9 ± 7.2 [32]. Also, the prevalence of women (72.3%) in our study is similar to findings of other multinational studies in NH settings (67%) [32].…”

“…Mean age of patients in our sample corresponds to the recent study of European NH facilities (6 different European countries) reporting mean age of patients to be 83.9 ± 7.2 [32]. Also, the prevalence of women (72.3%) in our study is similar to findings of other multinational studies in NH settings (67%) [32].…”

Perfil de pacientes e indicadores de um serviço de atenção domiciliar

“…O tempo médio de permanência/ano foi de 148,20 (DP 23,66) dias, abaixo do tempo médio de permanência encontrado em um estudo transversal realizado na Europa cujo tempo médio foi de 73,4 semanas (513,8 dias). O mesmo estudo apontou a presença de fatores estatisticamente significantes em relação ao tempo de permanência em cuidados domiciliares a longo prazo a saber: idade avançada na admissão, encaminhamento do hospital ou outro serviço de atenção domiciliar, ser casado e ser mulher [25]. Vale a pena ressaltar que o desfecho para tais pacientes foi o óbito.…”

Associations between Length of Stay in Long Term Care Facilities and End of Life Care. Analysis of the PACE Cross-Sectional Study

“…The groups were demarcated to ensure relatively similar sample sizes in each group, and to allow analysis of longer stay residents. Ten variables previously identified as associated with length of stay in the dataset were included in the analysis to control for resident, LTCF and country characteristics [39]. These were age, gender, marital status, place of admission, presence of cancer, presence and severity of dementia, physical functioning, LTCF type, LTCF funding status and country.…”