@article {172,
	title = {Home health and informal care utilization and costs over time in Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s disease.},
	journal = {Home Health Care Serv Q},
	volume = {27},
	year = {2008},
	month = {2008},
	pages = {1-20},
	abstract = {OBJECTIVES: To (1) compare home health and informal (unpaid) services utilization among patients with Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s disease (AD), (2) examine longitudinal changes in services use, and (3) estimate possible interdependence of home health and informal care utilization.

METHODS: The sample is drawn from the Predictors Study, a large, multicenter cohort of patients with probable AD, prospectively followed annually for up to 7 years in three university-based AD centers. Bivariate probit models estimated the effects of patient characteristics on home health and informal care utilization.

RESULTS: A large majority of the patients (80.6\%) received informal care with a smaller proportion (18.6\%) receiving home health services. Home health services utilization increased from 9.9\% at baseline to 34.5\% in year 4. Among users, number of days that services were provided in three-month recall increased from 21.9 to 56 days over time. Home health services utilization was significantly associated with function, depressive symptoms, being female, and not living with a spouse. Informal care utilization was significantly associated with cognition, function, comorbidities, and living with a spouse or child.

CONCLUSIONS: Home health and informal care utilization relate differently to patient characteristics. Utilization of home health care or informal care was not influenced by utilization of the other.},
	keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Caregivers, Cohort Studies, Female, Health Care Costs, Home Care Services, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, United States},
	issn = {0162-1424},
	doi = {10.1300/J027v27n01_01},
	author = {Zhu, Carolyn W and Torgan, Rebecca and Scarmeas, Nikolaos and Albert, Marilyn and Brandt, Jason and Blacker, Deborah and Sano, Mary and Stern, Yaakov}
}
