Risk factors for admission to a nursing home. A study of elderly people receiving home nursing.

Risk factors for permanent admission to a nursing home were studied in a prospective study of persons 70 years and over who received home nursing. Demographic data and use of psychotropic drugs were registered, and mental capacity, behaviour, and performance of activities of daily living (ADL-function) estimated. 214 patients received home nursing. 166 patients were available for the follow-up study after 16 months, of whom 31 had been admitted to a nursing home. Senile dementia and stroke were the most frequent diagnoses of admitted patients. Mental impairment, age, and amount of home nursing were associated with permanent admission to a nursing home. The odds for being admitted were 10.2 (C.I. 2.3-44.4) times higher in moderately and severely mentally impaired persons than in not mentally impaired persons. The odds for admittance for those 85 years and over, compared with those younger than 80, were 5.0 higher (C.I. 1.6-15.6); and those receiving home nursing three times weekly or more had 3.8 (C.I. 1.4-9.8) times higher odds than those with less help.