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Multicenter Study
. 2010 Mar;14(3):238-42.
doi: 10.1007/s12603-010-0056-3.

Health care for older people in Italy: The U.L.I.S.S.E. Project (Un link informatico sui servizi sanitari esistenti per l'anziano - a computerized network on health care services for older people)

F Lattanzio  1 , C Mussi, E Scafato, C Ruggiero, G Dell'Aquila, C Pedone, F Mammarella, L Galluzzo, G Salvioli, U Senin, P U Carbonin, R Bernabei, A Cherubini; U.L.I.S.S.E. Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Health care for older people in Italy: The U.L.I.S.S.E. Project (Un link informatico sui servizi sanitari esistenti per l'anziano - a computerized network on health care services for older people)

F Lattanzio et al. J Nutr Health Aging. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: The U.L.I.S.S.E. study is aimed at describing older patients who are cared for in hospitals, home care or nursing homes in Italy.

Design: The U.L.I.S.S.E. study is an observational multicenter prospective 1-year study.

Setting: Overall, 23 acute geriatric or internal medicine hospital units, 11 home care services and 31 nursing homes participated in the study.

Measurements: The patient's evaluation was performed using comprehensive geriatric assessment instruments, i.e. the interRAI Minimum Data Set, while data on service characteristics were recorded using ad-hoc designed questionnaires.

Results: The older subjects who are in need of acute and long term care in Italy have similar characteristics: their mean age is higher than 80 years, they have a high level of disability in ADL, an important multimorbidity, and are treated with several drugs. The prevalence of cognitive impairment is particularly high in nursing homes, where almost 70% of residents suffer from it and 40% have severe cognitive impairment. On the other hand, there is a shortage of health care services, which are heterogeneous and fragmented.

Conclusions: Health care services for older people in Italy are currently inadequate to manage the complexity of the older patients. An important effort should be undertaken to create a more integrated health care system.

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