Centre for Policy on Ageing



Social isolation predicts rehospitalization in a group of older American veterans enrolled in the UPBEAT Program
Author(s)	Ritesh Mistry, Joel Rosansky, Jim McGuire
Journal title	International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 16, no 10, October 2001
Pages	pp 950-959
Keywords	Older men ; Isolation ; Psychiatric treatment ; Admission [hospitals] ; United States of America.
Annotation	Does social isolation predict readmission to hospital in a group of older men enrolled in Unified Psychogeriatric Biopsychosocial Evaluation and Treatment (UPBEAT), a mental health care co-ordination project at nine US Veterans Affairs Healthcare Centers? The current study examined 123 UPBEAT patients in west Los Angeles. Those who were socially isolated or at high or moderate risk for isolation were 4-5 times more likely to be re-admitted to hospital within one year, than low-risk patients. While demographic characteristics were not significant predictors, social isolation risk, anxiety and patient-perceived health significantly predicted hospital re-admissions. These finding underline the importance of assessing and tackling the absence of social support with other factors in the health care of older male veterans. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-011115203 A
Classmark	BC: TP: LP: LD:QKH: 7T
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.