Home health patients with diabetes are three times more likely to be hospitalized than those without, according to a new study published in Nursing Outlook.
Almost half of home health patients suffer from diabetes. According to the study, it is one of the most common chronic conditions among people in this population. Among 5,300 community-dwelling home health patients with diabetes, the study recorded a hospital admission rate of 29.5%, affected by risk factors such as past hospitalizations, decreased performance in activities of daily living, depression or unhealed acute injuries.
The researchers compared this to people with diabetes in assisted living. These people may struggle more with activities of daily living or have greater cognitive impairments, the study noted, but they had a lower rate of hospital readmission due to access to round-the-clock assistance, meaning they were able to receive more timely preventive care
For home health patients, one of the best predictors of hospital readmission was whether a person had been hospitalized in the past six months. Home health patients who had been recently hospitalized were more than twice as likely to be readmitted. Another strong predictor was someone’s function completing activities of daily living. The participants who struggled to manage their daily activities were more likely to be hospitalized.
Conditions such as depression, decreased cognitive function and unhealed acute injuries like ulcers were all found to impact people’s ability to manage activities of daily living. While assisted living patients had greater access to support for these conditions, home health patients who lack access faced a higher risk of hospitalization, according to the study. Therapy services and other health interventions can help manage these conditions and help prevent rehospitalization, the researchers noted.
Other research has found that staffing problems in the home care industry may lead to discontinuity of care, which can increase a patient’s risk of hospital readmission.
This article originally appeared on McKnights Home Care
