Hospitalizations of adults with intellectual disability in academic medical centers

Abstract

Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) represent a small but important group of hospitalized patients who often have complex health care needs. Individuals with ID experience high rates of hospitalization for ambulatory-sensitive conditions and high rates of hospitalizations in general, even when in formal community care systems; however, no research was found on the common reasons for which this population is hospitalized. Academic medical centers often treat the most complex patients, and data from these centers can provide insight into the needs of patient populations with complex needs. The purpose of this study was to analyze descriptive data from the UHC (formerly known as the University Healthsystem Consortium; an alliance of 115 U.S. academic medical centers and 300 of their affiliated hospitals) regarding common reasons for hospitalization, need for intensive care, and common hospitalization outcome measures of length of stay and complications for adult (age ≥ 18) patients with ID. Findings indicate the need for specific attention to the needs of hospitalized patients with ID.

Keywords: academic medical center; adults; hospitalization; intellectual disability.