Measuring Outcomes in Care of the Elderly
Year: 1994
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This observational study was designed to assess whether routine measurement of outcomes using standard instruments is possible as part of clinical routine in care of the elderly, and to establish if such instruments are responsive to clinical change. Indices of functional status, cognitive function and subjective health status were collected routinely on admission and discharge in 540 inpatients and 340 patients attending a day hospital. Data collection became integrated into clinical routine. Response rates were generally good and yielded acceptably complete data. For inpatients, outcome was reflected by measurement of survival, physical function (Barthel index) and social status, each of these indicators showing significant change between admission and discharge. For day hospital patients, neither these, nor the Nottingham ADL scale, nor a health status indicator proved sufficiently responsive to clinical change to merit recommendation as outcome indicators for routine use in older patients. In ambulatory care in older patients, such as those attending a day hospital, new approaches are needed to measure clinical outcomes.
Authors: S G Parker, X Du, M J Bardsley, J Goodfellow, R G Cooper, R Cleary, D Broughton, C Striet, O F W James
Institutions: Newcastle University, Freeman Hospital
Language: English
Topic: Frailty in Older Adults
Subfield: Geriatrics and Gerontology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4407829880