PERCEPTION OF RISK OF ADVERSE OUTCOMES OF OLD PEOPLE IN NURSING HOMES, DAY CENTERS AND HOME CARE

Abstract

Purpose: In Portugal, the three main kinds of services available for older people are nursing homes, day centers and home care services. The admission of old people to these services is mostly based on socioeconomic criteria. However, it is not clear if admission in one of these three types of services corresponds to a higher/lower risk of adverse outcomes (institutionalization, hospitalization and death). The objectives of this work were: i) to characterize customers of each type of service; ii) to estimate the proportion of individuals at perceived risk of each adverse outcome according to each type of service; iii) to assess the ability of RISC to differentiate the types of services for each adverse outcome. Methodology: The sample comprised old people with 65 or plus years, that receiving care at home, in day centers or in a nursing home. The identification of individuals at risk within a year was realized using a short, reliable and valid pre-screen instrument, the RISC (Risk Instrument for Screening in the Community). Findings: The findings of this research suggest that the three types of services differ according to percentage of mental health problems, but do not differ according to functionality and medical problems of customers. Value: The RISC can be used to discriminate people in different settings of care and help selecting the groups at risk that will benefit more from available services