Patient selection: community dwelling and >= 71 years of age
Endpoint: healthcare utilization in the next 3 years
High hospital utilization is defined as >= 11 hospital days.
Risk factors for high hospital utilization:
(1) one or more hospitalizations in previous year
(2) one or more hospitalization in year previous to last
(3) male gender
(4) health self-reported as fair to poor
(5) not currently working
(6) no or infrequent religious participation
(7) needing assistance with bathing
(8) inability to walk one half mile (800 meters)
(9) diabetes mellitus
(10) therapy with a loop diuretic (Lasix)
(11) low serum albumin (< 3.8 g/dL)
(12) low serum iron (< 48 µg/dL)
where:
• Religious participation probably reflects the determination of the person to get out of the house for something important rather than an impact from belief per se. This probably correlates with being homebound.
The rounded coefficients for the regression model are shown in Table 3 (page 789). 6 variables had a coefficient of 2 (hospitalizations in past year, hospitalizations in year previous to last, bathing, loop diuretics, serum albumin and serum iron) while the remaining 6 had a coefficient of 1.
