Use of health care services according to functional performance in community-dwelling older adults in Spain. An approach using GAMLSS models.

Functional performance in older adults is a predictor of survival and other health outcomes and its measurement is highly recommended in primary care settings. Functional performance and frailty are closely related concepts, and frailty status is associated with the use of health care services. However, there is insufficient evidence on the utilization of services profile according to the functional performance of older adults. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between functional performance and the use of a wide range of health services in community-dwelling older adults. Generalized additive models for location, scale and shape were used to study these complex data of services utilization, from primary to hospital care. A total of 749 participants from two Spanish regions were followed up for 2 years. Of those, 276 (37%) presented low functional performance and 473 (63%) normal performance according to the Timed Up and Go test. The results showed that even after adjusting for burden of comorbidity and polypharmacy, participants with low functional performance used primary and secondary care health services more intensively, visited emergency rooms more often, and were hospitalized more frequently and for longer periods of time. A negative binomial distribution and a variant thereof were found to be the best models to describe health service utilization data. In conclusion, functionality should be considered as an important health indicator for tailoring the provision of health services for older adults.

Description of frail older people profiles according to four screening tools applied in primary care settings: a cross sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Regarding the health care of older populations, WHO recommends shifting from disease-driven attention models towards a personalized, integrated and continuous care aimed to the maintenance and enhancement of functional capacities. Impairments in the construct of functional intrinsic capacity have been understood as the condition of frailty or vulnerability. No consensus has been yet reached regarding which tools are the most suitable for screening this kind of patients in primary care settings. Tools based on the measurement of functional performance such as Timed up and go test (TUG), Short Physical Performance battery (SPPB), self-completed questionnaires like Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) and clinical judgement, as the Gerontopole Frailty Scale (GFS) may be adequate. The objective of this work is to describe and compare characteristics of community-dwelling individuals identified as vulnerable or frail by four tools applied in primary care settings. METHODS: Cross sectional analysis developed in primary care services in two regions of Spain. Community-dwelling independent individuals aged 70 or more willing to participate were recruited and data was collected via face-to-face interviews. Frailty was assessed by TUG, SPPB, TFI and GFST. Also socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits and health status data (comorbidities, polypharmacy, self-perceived health), were collected. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis were used to identify groups of individuals with similar characteristics. RESULTS: Eight hundred sixty-five individuals were recruited, 53% women, with a mean age of 78 years. Four clusters of participants emerge. Cluster 1 (N = 263) contained patients categorized as robust by most of the studied tools, whereas clusters 2 (N = 199), 3 (N = 183) and 4 (N = 220) grouped patients classified as frail or vulnerable by at least one of the tools. Significant differences were found between clusters. CONCLUSIONS: The assessed tools identify different profiles of patients according to their theoretical construct of frailty. There is a group of patients that are identified by TUG and SPPB but not by GFS or TFI. These tools may be useful in primary care settings for the implementation of a function- driven clinical care of older patients.

Prevalence and Related Factors of Ineffective Self-Health Management in Polymedicated Patients Over the Age of 65 Years.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of Ineffective Self-Health Management (ISHM) (00078) and its related factors in polymedicated patients over the age of 65 years. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used. A home interview was conducted with each participant (N = 375) for data collection. FINDINGS: The prevalence of ISHM was 37.3%. The risk factors associated were social risk, depression, noncompliance, medication errors, and confusion with medications. CONCLUSIONS: Among polymedicated elderly patients, the prevalence of ISHM is high. The diagnosis is closely connected to the compliance and complexity of the treatment regimen, in addition to those relating strictly to social and emotional factors. IMPLICATIONS: Nursing methodology encompasses instruments that allow nurses in clinical practice to evaluate the issue of compliance.

Medication-related factors associated with health-related quality of life in patients older than 65 years with polypharmacy.

METHODS AND DESIGN: Objective: To describe the relationship between medication-related factors and the health-related quality of life in patients older than 65 years who use multiple medications (polypharmacy). Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: Primary care. Participants: Patients older than 65 years who use multiple medications (n = 375). Measurements: The main outcome measure was health-related quality of life according to the EuroQol-5D instrument. Sociodemographic, clinical and medication-related variables were recorded during home interviews. RESULTS: Mean age was 74.72 ± 5.59 years, and 65.5% of our participants were women. The global level of health-related quality of life according to the EQ-5D visual analog scale was 59.25 ± 20.92. Of the five EuroQol dimensions, anxiety/depression and pain were the most frequently reported, while mobility and self-care were the dimensions with the greatest impact on self-reported quality of life. Multivariate analysis indicated that functional independence was the factor most strongly associated (ß = 14.27 p < 0.001) with better health-related quality of life, while illiteracy (ß = -13.58 p < 0.001), depression (ß = -10.13 p < 0.001), social risk (ß = -7.23 p = 0.004) and using more than 10 medicines (ß = -4.85 p = 0.009) were strongly associated with a poorer health-related quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Factors inherent within the patient such as functional incapacity, cognitive impairment and social and emotional problems were the main constraints to quality of life in our study population. The number of medicines taken was negatively related with quality of life.

[Adherence to treatment, by active ingredient, in patients over 65 years on multiple medication]. / Adherencia al tratamiento en pacientes polimedicados mayores de 65 años con prescripción por principio activo.

AIM: To assess the level of adherence, by active ingredient, to treatment and associated factors in polymedicated patients over 65 years-old. DESIGN: Observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study over polymedicated patients over 65 years of the Costa del Sol Health District and the North Malaga Health Area. The study was performed between January 2011 and September 2012 on 375 subjects obtained by simple random sampling from lists provided by each health centre. Data was collected by means of an interview with structured questions. Informed consent was given and signed by all patients before interview. STUDY VARIABLES: Main results variable adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green's test). PREDICTABLE VARIABLES: Prescription by active ingredient, socio-demographic variables, health care centre variables, and treatment associated variables. A descriptive analysis of variables was performed. Statistical inference was determined using univariate analysis (t test of Student or Mann-Whitney U, and Chi-squared), and controlling for confounding factors by multivariate analysis (linear and logistic regression). RESULTS: The result for therapeutic compliance was 51.7%. No statistically significant differences were observed as regards sex and age. A relationship was found in those who resided in rural areas (P=.001), lived with family (P<.05), and were not at risk of suffering from anxiety (P=.046). CONCLUSIONS: We found similar patient adherence to treatment despite the prescribing generic drugs. Failure to therapeutic compliance was greater in those patients who lived by themselves, in a city close to the coast, or in those patients who were at risk of suffering from anxiety.