Hospital transfer of people with dementia: results of the European RightTimePlaceCare project on their frequency, factors associated and costs

Background Hospitalisation is a critical moment for people with dementia and a major challenge for health care systems. The aims of this study were 1) to describe the frequency of hospital transfer among people with dementia from eight European countries, 2) to examine the factors associated with hospital transfer and 3) to evaluate the costs related with it. Methods The present study is a secondary data analysis of the RightTimePlaceCare European project. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with data collected from people with dementia who lived either at home or had been admitted to a nursing home in the last three months, as well as from their caregivers. Data on hospital transfers at three months were gathered with the "The Resource Utilization in Dementia" instrument. Demographic data, functional, cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms, comorbidity, polypharmacy, caregiver burden, nutritional status and falls were evaluated with validated tools. Multivariate regression models were used to investigate the factors associated with hospital transfers. Costs were estimated by multiplying quantities of resources used with the unit cost of each resource and inflated to the year 2018. Results The study sample comprised 1,700 people with dementia and their informal caregivers. Within three months, 16.7% experienced ≥ 1 hospital transfers. Multivariate logistic regression model showed a higher probability of hospital transfers among people with dementia with unintentional weight loss, polypharmacy, falls and those living in the community. The estimated costs per person with dementia/year among the participants living in a nursing home were 980.56 euros and 2,535.39 euros among those receiving home care. Conclusion Transfer to hospital is frequent among people with dementia, especially among those living in the community. These events are associated with the onset of geriatric syndromes such as involuntary weight loss, accidental falls and polypharmacy, and impose a remarkable economic burden. These results suggest that there is a need to develop and implement cost-effective supportive interventions that focus on the identification of people with dementia at risk of hospital transfer, the assessment and management of these geriatric syndromes and the promotion of individualised care planning for them, in order to prevent unnecessary hospital transfers.