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Long-term Healthcare Transition Pathways Among Community Dwelling Adults with Dementia in Alberta, Canada; A retrospective cohort analysis

  • Author / Creator
    Hathaway, Joshua D.
  • In Canada, one in five adults over the age of 80 have dementia. Dementia negatively impacts other chronic conditions and is associated with a higher risk of death, frailty and higher health-care costs. Health care transitions are major events; the abrupt nature of transitions, are confusing and frustrating events for both patients and caregivers and there is increasing evidence that patient safety is jeopardized during transitions. Patient transition pathways through the health care system are complex and are inadequately captured by standard single outcome and transition models, so I developed a multi-state model to better reflect complex transition pathways. I did this by constructing a retrospective cohort of 10,287 older community-dwelling adults living with dementia, and the transitions they experienced over a two-year period, from administrative databases and electronic medical records. This data was summarized and then analyzed. I found that frequent transitions and complex pathways characterize long-term transition pathways for older adults living with dementia. Additionally, older age, being male, increased comorbidity and number of previous transitions increase the complexity of long-term transition pathways through the healthcare system.

  • Subjects / Keywords
  • Graduation date
    Spring 2019
  • Type of Item
    Thesis
  • Degree
    Master of Science
  • DOI
    https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-xr8w-s223
  • License
    Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.