Functional and Cognitive Impairments Increased Risks of Outcomes of Healthcare Utilization in Patients With Stroke Receiving Home and Community-Based Care in Taiwan.

Aim: Stroke is a leading cause of disability; however, little is known about the outcomes of the utilization of long-term care (LTC) recipients in Taiwan. This study aimed to quantify the burdens of disease of stroke survivors receiving LTC by evaluating the outcomes of their utilization including mortality, readmissions, and re-emergency within 1 year after diagnoses of strokes.

Methods

By interlinkages among the national mortality registry, LTC dataset (LTC-CM), and the National Health Insurance Research Dataset (NHIRD), the outcomes and the factors associated with receiving LTC up to 1 year were explored. Patients were aged 50 years and over with an inpatient claim of the first diagnosis of stroke of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and ischemic stroke during 2011-2016. Outcomes of the healthcare utilization include rehospitalization and re-emergency.

Results

There were 15,662 patients with stroke who utilized the LTC services in the dataset among the stroke population in NHIRD. Stroke survivors receiving LTC showed no difference in clinical characteristics and their expected years of life loss (EYLL = 7.4 years) among those encountered in NHIRD. The LTC recipients showed high possibilities to be rehospitalized and resent to emergency service within 1 year after diagnosis. Apart from the comorbidity and stroke severity, both the physical and mental functional disabilities and caregiving resources predicted the outcomes of the utilization.

Conclusions

For stroke survivors, both severe functional impairments and cognitive impairments were found as important factors for healthcare utilizations. These results regarding reserving functional abilities deserve our consideration in making the decision on the ongoing LTC policy reform in the aged society of Taiwan.