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Table 3 Study variables

From: Study protocol of a quasi-experimental trial to compare two models of home care for older people in the primary setting

 

Definition and Measurements

Categories

Demographic Characteristics

 Age

At the moment of entering the HC program

65–74

75–84

> 85

 Gender

 

Male | Female

Health Status

 Caregiver

At the time of entering the HC program

Yes | No

 Level of dependency

Scale defined by Royal Decree 174/2011; Law 39/2006 of Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Care for People in Situations of Dependency.

Grade I (25–49): Moderate dependency

Grade II (50–74): Severe dependency

Grade III (75–100): Great dependency

 Decubitus ulcer

At physician’s discretion

Presence | absence

 Drugs prescribed

By active substance.

Not polymedicated (< 5)

Polymedicated (5–10)

Hyperpolymedicated (> 10)

 Comorbidity burden

Measured by Adjusted Morbidity Groups (GMA) risk assessment tool. GMA considers the type of disease (i.e. acute or chronic), number of systems affected, and complexity of each disease, which is coded by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9-CM) and stratify depending on the complexity.

31 qualitative ordinal GMA levels.

 Mortality

Death during follow-up

Yes | No

Realization of CGA

 

Yes | No

Assessments included in CGA

 Performance of normal daily tasks

Barthel Scale [27]

Total dependency (< 20)

Severe dependency (20–60)

Moderate dependency (61–90)

Mild dependency (91–99)

Autonomous (100)

 Mental health

Pfeiffer’s Test [28]

High risk (≤2)

Mild cognitive impairment (3–4)

Moderate cognitive impairment (5–7)

Severe cognitive impairment

 Decubitus ulceration risk

Braden Test [29]

High risk (< 12)

Moderate risk (13–14)

Low risk (15–18)

 Social risk

TIRS [30]

There is social risk when one indicator over 6 is positive

 Anxiety

Goldberg Scale [31]

Probable anxiety (≥4 positive responses)

Probable depression (≥2 positive responses)

 Geriatric depression scale

Yesavage Scale [32]

No depression (1)

Possible depression (≥ 2)

 Mobility

Timed Up and Go Test [33]

Normal (< 10)

Very little impaired (10–19)

Moderately impaired (20–29)

Severely impaired (≥30)

 Comorbidity

Charlson Index [34]

No comorbidity (0–1)

Low comorbidity burden (2) High comorbidity burden (> 3)

 Social state

Social Scale [35]

No social risk (≤9)

Social risk (10–14)

Social problem (≥15)

 Overburden of the caregiver

Zarit Test [25]

No overburden (< 46)

Intense overburden (> 56)

 Nutritional state evaluation

MNA [36]

Malnutrition (≤7)

Malnutrition risk (8–11)

Normal nutritional status (≥12)

 Home adequacy

Revision of home adequacy to determine the need of social worker intervention

Social worker is recommended when at least one item is positive

 Falls

Number of falls in the last year

 Frailty

Gérontopôle Frailty Screening Tool [37]

Frailty identification if one item of the scale is positive.

 Social services cost

Number and cost of social worker visits

 Quality of life

EuroQOL 5D-3 L [24, 38, 39]

No problems (Level 1)

Some problems (Level 2)

Extreme problems (Level 3)

Quality of Care

 Physicians PQI

Prescription Quality Index of the physician [40]

Include assessment of three categories:

More adequate therapeutic alternatives

Hyper prescription of a particular group of drugs

Selection indicators to promote safer and more effective alternatives available

 Prescriptions

Number of prescription events per patient

 Alternative drugs with therapeutic benefit

Percentage of use of the alternative drug as assessed by the physician

 Shared Interdisciplinary Individual plan

 

Yes | No

 Chronicity

Number of Complex Chronic Patients and Advanced Chronic Disease patients in the program

 Satisfaction with health care received

IEXPAC Scale [23]

Satisfactory (=10)

Unsatisfactory (< 10)

 Overburden of the caregiver

Zarit Scale [25]

No overburden (< 46)

Intense overburden (> 56)

Resource Utilization

 Family doctor visits

Number of at-home visits, other medical professional, primary care center or virtual appointments of the patient or the caregiver

 Nursing staff visits

Number of at-home visits, other medical professional and primary care center appointments of the patient or the caregiver. Also, number of virtual consultations, including remote evaluation or by phone of medical record

 Hospitalizations

Number of programmed, emergency and daycare admissions

 Readmissions

Number of successive hospitalizations due to the same pathology in less than 30 days

 Admissions to other public health care centers

Number of admissions, including convalescence, subacute, long-lasting and palliative units

 Hospitalizations per year

Days hospitalized

 Intermediate resources

Number and cost of laboratory tests, Radiology and interconsultations

 Pharmaceutical costs

Expenditure per patient and medical professional during a year

 Hospitalization-at-home device use

Number of activations per year and total of hospitalization days

 Social services intensity

Monthly hours spent by the social worker. Costs derived from teleassistance, cleaning and cooking aid, reused orthopedic material and family worker

 Call to emergency services

Number of patient intervention requests per year.

 Perception of healthcare professionals

Qualitative, self-administered questionnaire of difficulties in HC practice, based on the survey reported by Linares et al. [20]

 
  1. CGA Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, HC Home Care