Nursing home patients with mental-physical multimorbidity

Characteristics and health conditions of nursing home patients with mental-physical multimorbidity – the MAPPING study

Anne van den Brink, Mirande de Valk, Richard Oude Voshaar, Debby Gerritsen, Raymond Koopmans

De abstractcommissie heeft op verzoek van de congrescommissie 9 abstracts geselecteerd die tijdens het Verenso najaarscongres 'Kiezen voor delen' op 24 november 2016 middels een flitspresentatie gepresenteerd worden. Onderstaande abstract is daar een van.

Background

Long-term care facilities have partly taken over the traditional asylum function of psychiatric hospitals and house an increasing group of patients with mental-physical multimorbidity (MPM). Little is known about the characteristics, behavior and care dependency of these patients.

Methods

Descriptive study among patients with MPM without dementia (n=142), living in seventeen geronto-psychiatric nursing home (NH) units across the Netherlands, stratified by those referred from mental healthcare services (MHS) and other healthcare services (OHS). Data collection consisted of chart review, semi-structured interviews, (brief) neuropsychological testing, and self-report questionnaires. Patients referred from MHS (n=58) and from OHS (n=84) were compared by descriptive statistics.

Results

We found both groups to be quite similar regarding the mean number and distribution of their physical conditions and concomitant medication use. Prevalence and severity of frontal impairment were high, as well as the number of patients with clinically relevant neuropsychiatric symptoms. MHS patients were younger, had more chronic psychiatric disorders and more often they used antipsychotics.

Conclusions

Although both NH-patient groups with MPM showed heterogeneity in various aspects, they are quite similar regarding the consequences of their multimorbidity. In a variety of characteristics, this group seems to be different from other patient groups residing in nursing homes, which requires extra knowledge and skills of the staff. To uncover which knowledge and skills are necessary, the next step should be to investigate the specific care needs of NH-patients with MPM without dementia.