BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS OF OLDER ADULTS WITH DEMENTIA: COMPARISON OF DAY CARE AND HOME CARE SERVICES. (11th November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chung, J; Lee, T; Yim, E; Choi, H
• Is Part Of: Innovation in aging. Volume 2(2018)Supplement 1
• Page Start: 136
• Page End: 136
• Publication Date: 2018-11-11
• Subjects: Aging -- Periodicals; Gerontology -- Periodicals; 612.67
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.496
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2399-5300

Abstract

Abstract: As the population ages, the universal Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) was implemented in Korea in 2008. Despite the increasing number of people enrolled in LTCI, it is not certain which LTCI service type is effective in improving health status among beneficiaries. The aim of this study was to compare behavioral symptoms in day care (DC) and home care (HC) settings for beneficiaries with dementia. A retrospective matched cohort study was conducted using the LTCI data set from the National Health Insurance Service in Korea. A total of 7, 822 beneficiaries with dementia who received either DC or HC consistently for 1 year were identified. Multivariate logistic regression and paired samples t-tests with a propensity-score-matched cohort were conducted to examine the relationship between changes in behavioral symptoms and LTCI service type. The final matched sample included 416 beneficiaries in each group. For the full cohort, about 50% of beneficiaries in both DC and HC groups showed improvement in behavioral symptoms after 1 year of receiving services. The behavioral symptoms score after 1 year was lower for those in DC than in HC, indicating overall improvement in behavioral symptoms, but the difference was not significant. The type of service was significantly associated with worsened behavioral symptoms. Compared to beneficiaries receiving DC, those receiving HC experienced significantly worse behavioral symptoms after 1 year. Given challenges of aging in place with dementia, the findings from this study will provide policy implications by determining the effectiveness of DC programs for community-dwelling individuals with dementia.