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Social Service Interventions for Caregivers of Patients with Dementia: Impact on Health Care Utilization and Expenditures
Author(s) -
Weinberger Morris,
Gold Deborah T.,
Divine George W.,
Cowper Patricia A.,
Hodgson Lynne G.,
Schreiner Pamela J.,
George Linda K.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1993.tb02050.x
Subject(s) - medicine , intervention (counseling) , psychological intervention , dementia , randomized controlled trial , gerontology , service (business) , family medicine , nursing , disease , surgery , economy , pathology , economics
Objectives An intervention, which had as its primary goal the enhancement of compliance to social work recommendations, was shown to produce extremely high rates of compliance. This report addresses the secondary objective of the study: to evaluate the impact of the intervention on short‐term (ie, 6‐month) health services utilization and expenditures. Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting University‐based memory disorders clinic. Participants Caregivers of patients with progressive memory disorders. Main Outcome Measures Service utilization and expenditures. Results The intervention did not have a statistically significant impact on utilization of either health care or community resources. The intervention group had $903 less expenditures during the study period, a difference that did not achieve statistical significance. The results were consistent when controlling for caregiver characteristics that differed at baseline. Conclusions Although the intervention was successful in enhancing compliance with recommendations, more intensive interventions may be required to increase subsequent service utilization. Future investigations may wish to target the appropriateness of services used over a period longer than 6 months.