2000 Volume 37 Issue 11 Pages 928-936
A follow-up study was conducted to elucidate the factors influencing continuation of home life after returning home from geriatric intermediate care facilities (GICFs). The subjects were 237 elderly persons (56 men, 181 women, average age of 84 years) who were admitted to three GICFs located in the suburbs of Osaka, and their family caregivers. A follow-up study was performed from 1997 to 1998.
Seventy percent of the elderly were bedridden persons with grade B or C of activities of daily living (ADL) according to the criteria of disabled elderly of the Japanese government. Dementia was observed in 82.3% of them. Family caregivers were sons (30.7%), daughters (27.4%), daughters-in-law (27.8%) and spouses (9.7%). The percentage of families spending all day long with the elderly person was 57.5%. Although the rate of having their own detached house was high, that of a private room for the elderly individuals was only about 60%. Most of the families cared for the elderly before admission to the GICFs. The families desired them to stay in the GICFs for as long as possible. Therefore, the families did not want to take the elderly into their home after discharge and only 45% of the families desired home care after the discharge. Concerning the flow of the 237 elderly subjects, the rate of admission from hospitals was high (60.8%), and that of discharge to hospitals was also high (44.3%). The place of residence at the end of follow-up was the GICF (35.4%), the elderly subject's home (19.0%), and hospital (16.0%). Of the 96 elderly who had returned home from GICFs, 40.6% were re-admitted to GICFs. According to multiple logistic analysis, the factors related to continuation of home life were “the elderly with family caregivers who can always supervise him/her”, and “the elderly without problem behavior”.
From the results obtained, it is important that in order for disabled elderly individuals to continue their home life, the GICFs must be the function as the center of a comprehensive service system in the community.
