Dataset Information

Effects of home-based long-term care services on caregiver health according to age.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Caregiver health is a crucial public health concern due to the increasing number of elderly people with disabilities. Elderly caregivers are more likely to have poorer health and be a care recipient than younger caregivers. The Taiwan government offers home-based long-term care (LTC) services to provide formal care and decrease the burden of caregivers. This study examined the effects of home-based LTC services on caregiver health according to caregiver age.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included a simple random sample of care recipients and their caregivers. The care recipients had used LTC services under the Ten-Year Long-Term Care Project (TLTCP) in Taiwan. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires from September 2012 to January 2013. The following variables were assessed for caregivers: health, sex, marital status, education level, relationship with care recipient, quality of relationship with care recipient, job, household monthly income, family income spent on caring for the care recipient (%) and caregiving period. Furthermore, the following factors were assessed for care recipients: age, sex, marital status, education level, living alone, number of family members living with the care recipient, quality of relationship with family and dependency level. The health of the caregivers and care recipients was measured using a self-rated question (self-rated health [SRH] was rated as very poor, poor, fair, good and very good).

Results

The study revealed that home nursing care was significantly associated with the health of caregivers aged 65 years or older; however, caregivers aged less than 65 who had used home nursing care, rehabilitation or respite care had poorer health than those who had not used these services. In addition, the following variables significantly improved the health of caregivers aged 65 years or older: caregiver employment, 20% or less of family income spent on caregiving than 81%-100% and higher care recipient health. The involvement of daughters-in-law, rather than spouses, and care recipient health were positively related to the health of caregivers aged less than 65 years.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that home-based LTC service use benefits the health of elderly caregivers. By contrast, home-based LTC service use may be negatively correlated with the health of the caregivers aged less than 65 years.

SUBMITTER: Chen MC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5651602 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Effects of home-based long-term care services on caregiver health according to age.

Chen Ming-Chun MC Kao Chi-Wen CW Chiu Yu-Lung YL Lin Tzu-Ying TY Tsai Yu-Ting YT Jian Yi-Ting Zhang YZ Tzeng Ya-Mei YM Lin Fu-Gong FG Hwang Shu-Ling SL Li Shan-Ru SR Kao Senyeong S

Health and quality of life outcomes 20171023 1

<h4>Background</h4>Caregiver health is a crucial public health concern due to the increasing number of elderly people with disabilities. Elderly caregivers are more likely to have poorer health and be a care recipient than younger caregivers. The Taiwan government offers home-based long-term care (LTC) services to provide formal care and decrease the burden of caregivers. This study examined the effects of home-based LTC services on caregiver health according to caregiver age.<h4>Methods</h4>Thi ...[more]

PMID: 29061145

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Project description:ObjectiveTo provide the first plausibly causal national estimates of health outcomes for older dual-eligible recipients of Medicaid HCBS relative to nursing home care and to explore possible mechanisms for the effect.Data sourcesWe use 2005 and 2012 Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX), a national compilation of Medicaid claims, merged with Medicare claims to identify hospital admissions, our main outcome variable.Study designWe model the effects of HCBS using a longitudinal instrumental variables framework. To address the endogeneity of HCBS receipt, we instrument for it using the county percentage of nonelderly long-term care users who receive HCBS. The percentage of nonelderly users is highly predictive of HCBS use for an elderly beneficiary, but because the instrument was derived from a separate population, the exclusion restriction is unlikely to be violated.Population studied1,312,498 older adults (65+) dually enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare and are using long-term care. We also examine heterogeneity of effects by race/ethnicity and the presence of dementia.Principal findingsHCBS users have 10 percentage points higher (P < .01) annual rates of hospitalization than their nursing home counterparts when selection bias is addressed; rates of potentially avoidable hospitalizations are 3 percentage points higher (P < .01). These differences persist across races, dementia status, and intensity of HCBS spending.ConclusionsShifting Medicaid long-term care funding for older adults from nursing homes to HCBS, while well-motivated, results in the unintended consequence of substantially higher hospitalization rates for older dual eligibles. The quality and/or quantity of services may be inadequate for some HCBS recipients. Hospitalizations are costly to Medicare but also to the HCBS recipient in terms of stress and risks. Although consumer preferences to remain at home may outweigh poor outcomes of HCBS, the full costs and benefits need to be considered. HCBS outcomes-not just expansion-need more attention.

Project description:Background/objectivesMedicare-certified home health agencies are required to offer family caregiver training, but little is known regarding the potential impact of this training on outcomes during home health care. We estimate the proportion of family caregivers assisting Medicare home health patients who have unmet training needs and examine whether these unmet training needs are associated with older adults' risk of acute care utilization during home health care.DesignObservational, nationally representative cohort study.SettingLinked National Health and Aging Trends Study, Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS), Medicare Provider of Services file, and Medicare claims data from 2011 to 2016.ParticipantsThousand two hundred seventeen (weighted n = 5,870,905) community-living Medicare beneficiaries who received home health care between 2011 and 2016.MeasurementsFamily caregivers' unmet training needs measured from OASIS and Medicare claims; home health patients' acute care utilization (including emergency department use and hospitalization) measured from OASIS.ResultsRates of unmet need for training varied by activity, from 8.2% of family caregivers assisting with household chores to 16.0% assisting with self-care tasks. After controlling for older adult and home health provider characteristics, older adults whose family caregivers had an unmet need for training with any caregiving activity were twice as likely to incur acute care utilization during their home health episode (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.01, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-3.38). This relationship held across specific caregiving activities including household chores (aOR: 1.98; 95% CI: 1.13-3.46), medication management (aOR: 2.50; 95% CI: 1.46-4.26), patient supervision (aOR: 2.92; 95% CI: 1.36-6.24), and self-care tasks (aOR: 3.11; 95% CI: 1.62-6.00).Conclusions and relevanceUnmet training needs among family caregivers are associated with greater likelihood of acute care utilization among Medicare beneficiaries receiving home health care. Identifying and addressing family caregivers' training needs may reduce older adults' risk of acute care utilization during home health care.

Dataset Information

Effects of home-based long-term care services on caregiver health according to age.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Effects of home-based long-term care services on caregiver health according to age.

Similar Datasets

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