Key result
Medicare beneficiaries with depressive symptoms reported significantly worse health care experiences across all CAHPS measures, including a 3.56-point adjusted decrease in ease of getting needed care.
Why the study?
Do symptoms of depression worsen health care experiences in Medicare beneficiaries?
Cross-Sectional (n=58,228)
Do symptoms of depression worsen health care experiences in Medicare beneficiaries?
Mean Difference: -3.56
Absolute Event Rate: 81.08% vs 86.4%
p-value: p=<0.001
Depressive symptoms are a risk factor for poorer health care experiences among Medicare beneficiaries, partly mediated by decreased confidence in recognizing care needs.
Depressive symptoms associated with worse CAHPS experiences in Medicare; hypothesis-generating, prospective studies needed before practice change.
OBJECTIVES: To compare health care experiences of Medicare beneficiaries with and without symptoms of depression and investigate the role of patient confidence in shaping these experiences. DATA SOURCES: Data came from the 2009 CAHPS Medicare 4.0 Fee-for-Service (FFS) Survey, which was fielded to a national probability sample of 298,492 FFS Medicare beneficiaries. STUDY DESIGN: Linear regression was used to model associations of depression with four global ratings and three composite measures of health care and to test whether beneficiaries' confidence in their ability to recognize the need for care mediates these associations. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Beneficiaries with depressive symptoms reported worse experiences with care across the full range of patient experience covered by the CAHPS survey. Depressive symptoms were associated with decreased patient confidence and decreased confidence was in turn associated with poorer reports of care. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights depressive symptoms as a risk factor for poorer experiences of health care and highlights depressed patients' confidence in recognizing their need for care and for designing programs to improve the health care of this population.
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Martino et al. (2011) conducted a cross-sectional in Depressive symptoms (n=58,228). Depressive symptoms vs. No depressive symptoms was evaluated on Ease of getting needed care (0-100 scale) (b = -3.56, p=<0.001). Medicare beneficiaries with depressive symptoms reported significantly worse health care experiences across all CAHPS measures, including a 3.56-point adjusted decrease in ease of getting needed care.
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