Use Of Outpatient Care Services Research Articles

Psychological distress, social support, and use of outpatient care among adult men and women with coronary artery disease or other non-cardiovascular chronic disease

ObjectivesPsychological distress, as defined by elevations in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and/or perceived stress, is frequent in patients with chronic diseases, such as coronary artery disease (CAD). While psychological distress is known to impact disease outcomes, less is known about its influence on health care utilization, or on the factors that may modify these relationships. This prospective study examined whether 1) psychological distress predicts greater use of outpatient care services over a period of up to eight years in middle-aged to older individuals with CAD or other non-cardiovascular chronic diseases; 2) this relationship differs according to sex, presence of CAD, and/or social support. MethodsMen and women (N = 1236; aged 60.85 ± 6.95 years) with and without CAD completed validated questionnaires on symptoms of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and social support. Number of medical outpatient visits was obtained from the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec. Analyses included bivariate correlations, hierarchical regressions, and moderation analyses, controlling for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables. ResultsPsychological distress, social support, and yearly outpatient visits were significantly correlated (ps < 0.05). In regression analyses, only depressive symptoms were associated with significantly greater use of outpatient care (b = 0.048, p = .004), particularly among CAD patients (b = 0.085, p < .001). Neither sex nor social support moderated this relation. ConclusionDepression predicted greater outpatient visits in patients with chronic disease, especially CAD patients. More research is needed to determine whether psychosocial interventions may have an impact on health care utilization.

Individual characteristics associated with the utilization of nursing care in the very old population: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundAs older adults ≥80 years are often underrepresented in previous studies, little is known about their characteristics associated with the utilization of nursing care services. Therefore, this study examined individual (predisposing, enabling, and need) predictors of nursing care utilization in the very old population of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in Germany.MethodsData from a representative cross-sectional study included 1531 community-dwelling individuals and nursing home residents aged ≥80 years. Multinomial regression was applied to investigate the factors that explain the use of outpatient care services, day care, and/or private care (odpNCU), and inpatient nursing care (inpNCU).ResultsOverall, 1083 (69.9%) participants did not use nursing care services (noNCU), 339 (21.9%) used outpatient, day, and/or private care, and 127 (8.2%) used inpatient nursing care. Compared to noNCU, odpNCU was associated with a higher likelihood of being older [odds ratio (OR) = 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.11], having no partner (OR = 0.58, 95%CI: 0.37-0.91), experiencing higher functional (basic activities of daily living, OR = 0.02, 95%CI: 0.01-0.04; instrumental activities of daily living, OR = 0.18, 95%CI: 0.11-0.30) and cognitive disabilities (OR = 0.63, 95%CI: 0.44-0.89). Compared to noNCU, nursing home residents were more likely older (OR = 1.14, 95%CI: 1.07-1.22), had lower socioeconomic status (OR = 0.98, 95%CI: 0.97-1.00), were childless (OR = 3.83, 95%CI: 1.71-8.56) and without partners (OR = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.20-0.96), socially isolated (OR = 3.94, 95%CI: 2.06-7.55), were more likely to be lonely (OR = 2.94, 95%CI: 1.58-7.89), more functionally (basic activities of daily living, OR = 0.01, 95%CI: 0.00-0.03; instrumental activities of daily living, OR = 0.04, 95%CI: 0.02-0.09) and cognitively impaired (OR = 0.48, 95%CI: 0.31-0.74), but they were less likely to experience five or more chronic conditions (OR = 0.42, 95%CI: 0.20-0.88) and less likely to be physically pre-frail (OR = 0.24, 95%CI: 0.10-0.58) and frail (OR = 0.09, 95%CI: 0.03-0.27).ConclusionsIndividual need factors dominated in explaining odpNCU, suggesting that the very old population in NRW may have equitable access to these services. As social structure, region, and social resources explain inpNCU, this type of care may be inequitably accessible.

Impact of Physical and Social Frailty on the Utilization of Nursing Care Services in Very Old Adults

Frailty, characterized by increased vulnerability to external stressors, has been found to increase the risk of healthcare utilization and nursing home admission. As the age group of 80 years or older remains frequently underrepresented in previous research, this study examined the impact of physical and social frailty on the utilization of nursing care services in very old population of North Rhine-Westphalia. Using data from a representative cross-sectional study, 1,577 community-dwelling and institutionalized individuals aged ≥80 years were included. Physical frailty was defined according to Fried’s criteria (exhaustion, weight loss, low handgrip strength, low physical activity). Social frailty was measured with self-reported loneliness, social isolation, and time spent with others. The use of outpatient care services, day care, informal and inpatient care were considered. Multinomial regression was applied to investigate the impact of physical and social frailty on the use of outpatient and inpatient care services, controlling for relevant sociodemographic and health related characteristics. Compared to very old adults who did not use any care services, no association was found between frailty and the use of outpatient or informal care. Comparing nonusers of care services with institutionalized individuals, nursing home residents were less likely to experience physical frailty and pre-frailty, but were more likely to be socially isolated and to feel lonely. These findings suggest that physical frailty might have been successfully prevented in the context of institutional inpatient care. However, early identification and intervention focused on social inclusion of the institutionalized very old individuals are needed to reverse social frailty.

Use of Outpatient Care Services by People with Dementia: Results of the Bavarian Dementia Survey (BayDem)

The increasing prevalence of dementia raises challenges concerning the care of people with dementia (pwd). The care of pwd is mainly conducted by informal caregivers who are faced with several burdens; however, use of care services is generally low. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of the use of outpatient care services. The Bavarian Dementia Survey (BayDem) is a multi-centre, longitudinal study that was conducted at 3 different sites in Bavaria, Germany. Participants were people with dementia (pwd) (according to ICD-10) and their informal caregivers. Data were collected by standardised face-to-face interviews using well-designed instruments in cooperation with local partners. Logistic regression analysis was carried out in order to identify predictors of the use of outpatient care services. In total, 364 pwd and 339 informal caregivers were included at the beginning of the study BayDem. The use of supportive care services was generally low. One-third of all participants used outpatient care services. In the logistic regression analysis, the following significant predictors for the use of outpatient care services 6 months after baseline were identified: severity of cognitive impairment of the pwd; use of outpatient care at the beginning of the study. The low use of outpatient care services is a well-known paradoxical phenomenon. Such services can help give relief to informal caregivers. In order to enhance the use of supportive outpatient care services, there should be more focus on innovative health service delivery models with a low access threshold barrier. Besides more public campaigns, more guidance for existing offers is needed.

Changes in the Use of Health Insurance Services before and after a Father-Child Measure

Since 2002 inpatient preventive and rehabilitative measures for fathers and their children (F-C-M) are available in the German health system (§§ 24 and 41 SGB V). So far there is no data on health disorders of the fathers in F-C-M. The aim of this study is to examine whether participants of F-C-M are more prone to health problems than fathers who are not participating in F-C-M and whether participation in F-C-M contributes to improved health. To do so, the change in the use of outpatient care services is examined and compared to the use of mentioned services by fathers who are not participating in an F-C-M. The research project is based on the routine data of AOK-Niedersachsen (AOKN). Outpatient diagnoses and medications that were billed one year before and one year after the measure are used as outcome variables for outpatient use. The test sample (N=179) includes all fathers who participated in a F-C-M in 2005-2009 and were insured throughout. For these fathers, a comparative group of fathers who had not participated in a F-C-M (N=717) was formed in parallel. The investigation has shown that the participants of the F-C-M received more diagnoses and medications before and after the measure than fathers without F-C-M. Fathers under 40 years mostly got fewer diagnoses and medications after the measure than before the measure, whereas older people showed a higher claim after the measure. The participants of the F-C-M mainly have more F-diagnoses than fathers without F-C-M. In addition to that the increase in I-diagnoses and the increase in cardiovascular drugs are striking compared to the previous year. The increased use of the statutory health insurance benefits of participants of the F-C-M compared to non-participants indicates that the F-C-M is a health-impaired group of insured people. The high number of F-diagnoses further illustrates that the participants are particularly affected in this indication area. A positive effect of the measure is shown by the fact that younger fathers made reduced use of health insurance benefits, while in the case of older participants a treatment requirement was still predominant or was revealed in the context of the measure.

Effects of Geographical Accessibility on the Use of Outpatient Care Services: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Panel Count Data.

In 2010-2012, new outpatient service locations were established in Hungarian micro-regions, which had lacked such capacities before. We exploit this quasi-experiment to estimate the effect of geographical accessibility on outpatient case numbers using both individual-level and semi-aggregate panel data. We find a 24-27 per cent increase of case numbers as a result of the establishments. Our specialty-by-specialty estimates imply that a 1-min reduction of travel time to the nearest outpatient unit increases case numbers for example by 0.9 per cent in internal care and 3.1 per cent in rheumatology. The size of the new outpatient capacities has a separate effect, raising the possibility of the presence of supplier-induced demand. By combining a fixed-effects logit and a fixed-effects truncated Poisson estimator, we decompose the effects into increases in the probability of ever visiting a doctor on the one hand and an increase of the frequency of visits on the other hand. We find that new visits were dominant in the vast majority of specialties, whereas both margins were important for example in rheumatology. Finally, we demonstrate the usefulness of the fixed-effects truncated Poisson estimator in modelling count data by examining its robustness by simulations.

The prevalence of medical services use. How comparable are the results of large-scale population surveys in Germany?

Background: The large-scale representative population surveys conducted by Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) contain questions pertaining to health and its determinants as well as the prevalence and frequency of outpatient services utilization. The same holds for the Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP, Sozio-ökonomisches Panel) and the Bertelsmann Healthcare Monitor (Gesundheitsmonitor) surveys. The purpose of this study is to examine the comparability of the instruments used in these surveys and their results.Methods: The questions on outpatient care utilization examined in this study were taken from the public use files of the East-West Health Survey (Ost-West Survey; OW1991), the 1998 Federal National Health Survey (Bundesgesundheitssurvey; BGS1998), the 2003 Telephone Health Survey (TEL2003), and the 2009 German Health Update (Gesundheit in Deutschland aktuell GEDA2009). The study also used data from the 26 waves of the SOEP (1984–2009) and the 16 waves of the Bertelsmann Healthcare Monitor (2001–2009) studies.Results: In the OW1991 and the BGS1998, questions on outpatient services utilization differ by the types of physicians inquired about. The four-week prevalence of contact with general practitioneers (GP) was 29% in the OW1991; the twelve-month prevalence in the BGS1998 was 69%. The OW1991 and the BGS1998 also surveyed participants on the number of physician contacts made during those reference periods (average number of contacts: 1.8 over the previous four weeks (OW1991) and 4.9 over the previous 12 months (BGS1998)). The TEL2003 inquires into the three-month prevalence of contact with private practice physicians in general (63%) as well as the number of contacts with primary care physicians over the previous twelve months (88% with at least one contact, average number of contacts: 4.6, range: 1–92). In the GEDA2009 survey, 88% of participants reported having contacted a physician at least once over the previous twelve months and an average of 6.1 contacts with all physicians working under contract with the German statutory health insurance (SHI) funds. The 2009 SOEP survey revealed a 28% three-month prevalence of contact with all types of physicians and an average of 3.6 contacts (among participants who had made at least one contact during this period). According to the Bertelsmann Health Monitor, the twelve-month prevalence of contact with GPs was 82%, with the average number of contacts being 5.0. The Bertelsmann Health Monitor also surveys participants on contacts made with four other types of physicians; the OW1991 and the BGS1998 ask about contacts made with over ten different types of physicians when examining the frequency of services use.Conclusions: Not only do the target groups of the RKI surveys, the SOEP and the Bertelsmann Health Monitor differ; their questions on outpatient care utilization also differ in terms of examined reference period and types of physicians contacted by survey participants, question wording including clarifications (e.g., asking the participant to also consider contacts not made “in person” with physicians when answering a question), and response categories. Therefore, unlike the results of the surveys’ questions on inpatient care, the results of questions on the use of outpatient care services are not easily comparable, even those regarding contact with primary care physicians and GPs. The results of secondary analyses of German SHI claims data could be used to confirm the external validity of the surveys’ results.

Intensification of the transition between inpatient neurological rehabilitation and home care of stroke patients. Controlled clinical trial with follow-up assessment six months after discharge

An intensified transition concept between neurological inpatient rehabilitation and home care was investigated for effects on the functional status of stroke patients and the physical and emotional health of their carers. Controlled clinical trial allocating patients to intervention group (intensified transition on ward II) or control group (standard transition on ward I); patients were allocated to whichever ward had a vacancy. Follow-up assessment was carried out six months after discharge. Seventy-one patients and their family carers were included, of which nine cases dropped out. Therefore 62 stroke patients with persisting disability and their family carers were available for assessment at follow-up--33 patients in the intervention group, 29 patients in the control group. The intensified transition concept consisted of therapeutic weekend care, bedside teaching and structured information for relatives during the second phase of the rehabilitation. Patients were assessed with the Barthel Index, Functional Independence Measure, Ashworth Spastic Scale, Frenchay Arm Test, and Timed Up and Go Test. The carers completed SF-36, and were assessed using the Giessen Symptom List, Depression Scale and Burden Scale for Family Caregivers. The intensified transition did not lead to significant change in the functional status of the patients or in the physical and emotional health of the family carers. Within the first four weeks after discharge, the patients in the intervention group had fewer new illnesses. In the observation period the use of outpatient care services was more frequent in the intervention group than in the control group. Even though there are few differences of moderate intensity between the two groups the intensified transition programme does not affect either the functional status of the stroke patients or the health of the carers.