Psychogeriatric day care outcome: A five‐year follow‐up

Abstract All 224 consecutive new patients who were admitted in 1982 through 1985 to the day care department of a skilled‐care psychogeriatric nursing home were followed longitudinally until death. Dementia was diagnosed in 95.1% of the 133 women and 91 men. Their mean age at admission was 78.7 years (SD = 7.4). Every 12 months after their initial attendance the patients' status was recorded and coded as living in the community, institutionalized or dead. At one year after initial attendance 99 (44.2%) patients still resided in the community, 94 (42.0%) were admitted to a nursing home or (psychiatric) hospital and 31 (13.8%) had died. At five years only nine (4.0%) patients resided in the community, 65 (29.0%) were in long‐term institutional care and 150 (67.0%) had died. Age, gender, socioeconomic status or living alone did not contribute to first‐year outcome, but severity of cognitive impairment was associated with an increased risk of becoming institutionalized. Using logistic regression analysis, a model of three variables, living at home, needing help from caregiving children, and high ratings of dependency, assigned 61.4% of 176 subjects correctly as institutionalized versus residing in the community.