Functional independence of residents in urban and rural long-term care facilities in Taiwan

Purpose: To compare the score of functional independence measure (FIM) between urban and rural residents living in long-term care facilities (LTCF) in Taiwan. Methods: A total of 437 subjects in 112 licensed LTCF in Taiwan were randomly selected by stratification strategy. Physical therapists interviewed the subjects in nursing homes (NH) and intermediate care facilities (ICF) to obtain the basic data, and the FIM score. Results: (1) There was no significant difference in basic demographic data between urban and rural LTC subjects. (2) Most of the subjects in urban and rural LTCF were males, less than 80 years old, single/widowed, having multiple diseases, using more than one assistive devices, and having social welfare financial support. (3) Motor abilities (eating, grooming, and transfer) and cognition (comprehension, social interaction and problem solving) in rural LTCF subjects were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those in urban areas as revealed by the FIM assessment. (4) The median of FIM total score of rural LTCF subjects was 90.5, which was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that of urban LTCF subjects (median=76). Conclusions: Some of the functional performance of subjects in rural long-term care institutions is better than those in urban areas. Our results may provide guidelines for the manpower and equipment supply estimation.