Exploring the Relationship Between Home Time and Serious Illness Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults
2024

Home Time and Serious Illness in Older Adults

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Butler Rachel, Degenholtz Howard

Primary Institution: University of Pittsburgh

Hypothesis

How does a serious illness diagnosis affect home time among community-dwelling older adults?

Conclusion

Older adults with serious illness spend significantly less time at home compared to those without serious illness.

Supporting Evidence

  • Community-dwelling older adults with serious illness had a mean of 353.6 Healthy Days at Home.
  • The overall community-dwelling sample population had a mean of 361.9 Healthy Days at Home.
  • A Poisson regression indicated fewer Healthy Days at Home for those with serious illness.

Takeaway

This study found that older adults with serious illnesses stay at home less often than those who are healthier.

Methodology

The study used data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study linked to Medicare claims to analyze home time using the Healthy Days at Home measure.

Participant Demographics

Community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries, including various genders and ages.

Statistical Information

Confidence Interval

-0.03, -0.02

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1093/geroni/igae098.2497

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