An attempt to determine the impact of four types of care upon the elderly in London by the study of matched groups

Synopsis Groups of elderly people, matched by level of dependency and probability of dementia, were identified in day centres, day hospitals, wards, and local authority homes, and followed up over 9 months to determine the impact of type of care upon outcome. No difference in mortality or changes in dementia scores were found, but the survivors' levels of dependency improved most in day centres and local authority homes. This finding, and the problems of matching, are discussed.