Impact of the care coordination program "Partners in Dementia Care" on veterans' hospital admissions and emergency department visits.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

"Partners in Dementia Care" (PDC) tested a care-coordination program based on partnerships between Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and Alzheimer's Association chapters. The hypothesis posited PDC would reduce the likelihood and number of veterans' hospital admissions and emergency department (ED) visits, particularly for those with more cognitive impairment or behavioral symptoms.

Methods

The sample included 328 veterans with dementia and their primary family or friend caregivers from five matched sites (two randomly selected treatment sites). Data came from VA records; supplemented by caregiver research interviews. Regression analyses using the likelihood and number of hospital and ED visits as outcomes tested for overall treatment-comparison group differ

SUBMITTER: Bass DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5975051 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature