الوصف: |
Objectives Little is known about determinants of access to community‐based geriatricians. The Geriatric 5Ms™ describe geriatricians' core competencies and inform referrals to specialists for older adults with complex needs. We explored the association of the Geriatric 5Ms™ and other characteristics with outpatient access to geriatricians by home care (HC) clients. Methods This was a population‐based, retrospective cohort study of frail community‐dwelling HC clients (≥60 years) with complex needs ( n = 196,444). Health assessment information was linked to health services data in Ontario, Canada, 2012–2015. Multivariable generalized estimating equations were used to identify characteristics associated with geriatrician contact (≥1 visit in 90 days post‐HC admission), including derived Geriatric 5Ms™ score, and predisposing, enabling, and need factors obtained from clinical assessments. Results Only 5.2% of the cohort had outpatient geriatrician contact in Ontario, Canada. Derived Geriatric 5Ms™ score was associated with higher odds of contact, but the model had modest discriminatory power ( c ‐statistic = 0.67). In the broader multivariable model, based on empirically included factors and adjusted for regional differences, age, worsening of decision‐making, dementia, hallucinations, Parkinsonism, osteoporosis, and caregiver distress/institutionalization risk were associated with higher odds of geriatrician contact. Female sex, difficulties accessing home, impaired locomotion, recovery potential, hemiplegia/hemiparesis, and cancer, were associated with lower odds of contact. This model had good discriminatory power ( c ‐statistic = 0.77). Conclusions Few frail, community‐dwelling older adults receiving HC had any outpatient geriatrician contact. While the derived Geriatric 5Ms™ score was associated with contact, a broader empirical model performed better than the Geriatric 5Ms™ in predicting contact with an outpatient geriatrician. Contact was mainly driven by conditions common in older adults, but ... |