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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Elderly persons admitted to general medical wards in Fiji | | Author(s) | Jagdish C Maharaj, Frederick Ehrlich |
| Journal title | BOLD, vol 10, no 1, November 1999 |
| Publisher | International Institute on Ageing (United Nations - Malta), November 1999 |
| Pages | pp 17-27 |
| Keywords | Admission [hospitals] ; Medical wards ; Polynesia. |
| Annotation | The over 60 population in Fiji of 5.8% will increase to 14.6% by the year 2020. This study reviewed medical records of all older patients admitted to general medical wards at the Colonial Memorial Hospital in 1995 with reference to demographic features, medical diagnoses, discharge medications, length of stay, stressors necessitating re-admission, and outcomes. There were 51.6% males, 48.4% females, mean age 69.3 years. The most common primary diagnoses were neurological (24.2%) and cardiac (22.35); with cardiac (30.5%), hypertension (30.2%) and diabetes mellitus (22.6%) as the most frequent secondary diagnoses. Polypharmacy was common with 3.12 discharge medications per patient and 40% of patients discharged on four or more medications. Older people spent an average 4 days more than other patients in the hospital and occupied 38% of all general medical beds. There is a need to develop geriatrics and rehabilitation medical services in Fiji, to provide adequate acute, post-acute, continuing and extended care, and at the same time to promote healthy ageing. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-000203220 A |
| Classmark | LD:QKH: LD4: 7YP |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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