Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of functional and health status with institutional care use: Results from the Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan

Aim: This study evaluated the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of functional and health status with institutional care, and examined determinants of institutional care use over time. Methods: Data of this study were obtained from the Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan (SHLSET), which was launched in 1989 and involved a nationally representative sample of nearly-old and old Taiwanese. The baseline data in this present study were collected in 1999, and followed in 2003 and 2007. Results: Participants with institutional care use had a higher activities of daily living (ADL) score, more self-reported diseases and poorer self-reported health status than participants without institutional care use (all P<0.05). Cross-sectional analysis showed that a higher ADL score, having heart diseases and having a stroke were positively associated with institutional care use (P<0.05); whereas the number of self-reported diseases and poor self-reported health status were not associated with institutional care use. Longitudinal analysis showed that increased ADL scores and the number of self-reported diseases over 4- and 8 years were associated with an increased likelihood of subsequent institutional care use (all P<0.05). Worsening health status over 4 years was associated with an increased likelihood of subsequent institutional care use, but this association did not exist over 8 years. Conclusions: Only ADL and ADL deterioration over time are cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with increased institutional care use. Declining functional status is a major determinant of institutional care use for Taiwanese aged over 53 years. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 597-606.