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Experience of care home residents with Parkinson's disease: Reason for admission and service use

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Richard Walker, Dr Brian Wood

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Abstract

AimThe care needs of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) are poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the factors that precipitate entry to institutional care, and on-going care needs once in care, within a representative cohort of community-dwelling people with PD.MethodAll people with idiopathic PD, Parkinson's plus syndromes and vascular parkinsonism under the care of the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust PD service who were living in care homes on 1 January 2013 were included. Disease severity (Hoehn and Yahr stage) and demographic data were collected. Admissions to hospital over the previous 2 years and in the year before institutional care admission were documented.ResultsA total of 90 patients (51 females) with a mean age of 81.3 years were included. During care home stay, the median number of emergency department attendances, the median number of hospital admissions and the median length of stay for those admitted per year were significantly lower than before care home admission. Both before care home admission and during care home stay, falls were the most common diagnoses in people attending emergency departments, with 32 of 65 (49.2%) admissions before and 34 of 59 (57.6%) admissions during care home stay having falls recorded as a cause of attendance.ConclusionsHospital attendances and admissions were relatively common, even after institutional care home placement. Events precipitating admission, such as falls, might be preventable. PD nurse specialists could be an effective way to help train staff in homes where someone is known to have PD. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2014; 14: 947-953.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Walker RW, Palmer J, Stancliffe J, Wood BH, Hand A, Gray WK

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Geriatrics & Gerontology International

Year: 2014

Volume: 14

Issue: 4

Pages: 947-953

Print publication date: 01/10/2014

Online publication date: 09/12/2013

Acceptance date: 30/10/2013

ISSN (print): 1444-1586

ISSN (electronic): 1447-0594

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ggi.12204

DOI: 10.1111/ggi.12204

PubMed id: 24320887

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