Elderly patients discharged from acute hospital - a follow-up study

This follow-up study describes the situation of 333 patients aged 75 and over and living at home 3-5 months after discharge from acute hospital with regard to formal and informal help, changes in functional level, rehabilitation and health status. The study is based on a postal questionnaire sent to those still living at home, with a response rate of 91%. Mean age was 80.2 years (range, 75-97). Sixty percent were women. About half of the patients reported receiving formal home help and district nurse visits; even more had help from relatives. At discharge four-fifths of the patients were independent with regard to activities in daily living (ADL) and this increased slightly at follow-up. More than one-third of patients did some kind of exercise after discharge; as formal rehabilitation and as training by themselves,even in the oldest group, those aged 90+. Half of the patients were in good or very good health according to self-reported health assessment. When reporting poor health (17%),it was often related to functional deterioration after discharge and numerous health problems like pain, vertigo, and various mental problems, among others. Women reported more health problems (mean number, 5.3) than men (4.6) but problems were also common in the 80-84-year-old age group and these were of a varying nature. The importance of multidimensional assessment, involving medical, functional and psycho-social factors is stressed. The opportunities for rehabilitation of elderly patients discharged from acute hospital should be kept in mind, the ambition being maintenance of health and independence in daily living in the patient's own home for as long as possible.