Baseline resident characteristics after matching (figures show per cent of residents unless otherwise stated)
| Residential care homes | Nursing homes | |||
| Principia | Matched controls | Principia | Matched controls | |
| Total number of residents (residencies) | 203 | 203 | 365 | 365 |
| Total number of unique residents | 203 | 166 | 365 | 263 |
| Median age, years (IQR) | 88.46 (83.72, 93.34) | 89.04 (85.22, 92.33) | 85.63 (80.80, 90.22) | 86.72 (82.04, 90.13) |
| Male | 28.6% | 26.6% | 42.7% | 40.5% |
| White | 86.7% | 85.7% | 89.9% | 84.1% |
| Charlson index, based on health conditions recorded in 2 years prior to moving to the care home, mean (SD) | 1.88 (1.53) | 1.81 (1.57) | 2.52 (1.95) | 2.45 (1.87) |
| Number of conditions linked to frailty recorded in 2 years prior to moving to the care home, mean (SD) | 2.03 (1.66) | 1.89 (1.56) | 2.19 (1.58) | 2.03 (1.40) |
| Anxiety or depression | 18.2% | 15.8% | 15.6% | 20.5% |
| Cognitive impairment | 50.2% | 48.3% | 58.1% | 54.0% |
| Functional dependence* | 25.1% | 24.1% | 23.8% | 15.9% |
| Fall or significant fracture | 53.2% | 49.3% | 52.1% | 46.8% |
| Incontinence | 11.3% | 8.4% | 15.1% | 9.3% |
| Mobility problems | 22.7% | 22.2% | 26.8% | 27.9% |
| Pressure ulcers | 7.9% | 6.9% | 8.8% | 16.4% |
| Other health conditions recorded in the 2 years prior to moving to the care home that were considered predictive of hospital readmission | ||||
| Metastatic cancer with solid tumour | Freq <10 | Freq <10 | 7.7% | 6.0% |
| Other malignant cancer | 9.4% | 9.4% | 19.5% | 15.1% |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 13.3% | 9.4% | 20.0% | 17.5% |
| Congestive heart failure | 15.8% | 10.3% | 16.2% | 23.8% |
| Dementia | 52.2% | 49.8% | 53.4% | 49.9% |
| Diabetes with chronic complications | Freq <10 | Freq <10 | 2.7% | 2.7% |
| Hemiplegia or paraplegia | Freq <10 | Freq <10 | 4.1% | 4.7% |
| Moderate or severe liver disease | Freq <10 | Freq <10 | Freq <10 | Freq <10 |
| Other liver disease | Freq <10 | Freq <10 | 2.7% | Freq <10 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | Freq <10 | Freq <10 | 7.9% | 7.9% |
| Renal disease | Freq <10 | Freq <10 | Freq <10 | Freq <10 |
| Hospital use prior to moving to the care home, mean (SD) | ||||
| Potentially avoidable emergency admissions in prior year | 0.45 (0.68) | 0.41 (0.66) | 0.51 (1.03) | 0.57 (0.93) |
| Potentially avoidable emergency admissions in year before prior year | 0.12 (0.41) | 0.11 (0.41) | 0.16 (0.53) | 0.17 (0.49) |
| Emergency admissions in prior year | 1.61 (1.39) | 1.49 (1.08) | 1.76 (1.56) | 1.78 (1.51) |
| Emergency admissions in year before prior year | 0.59 (1.06) | 0.49 (0.92) | 0.66 (1.22) | 0.69 (1.05) |
| A&E attendances in prior year | 1.65 (1.63) | 1.70 (1.35) | 1.68 (1.52) | 1.76 (1.68) |
| Hospital bed days in prior year | 24.29 (27.32) | 24.70 (27.38) | 45.78 (46.63) | 43.99 (43.37) |
| Elective admissions in prior year | 0.24 (0.50) | 0.17 (0.43) | 0.43 (1.19) | 0.37 (1.17) |
| Outpatient attendances in prior year | 3.45 (4.04) | 2.60 (4.17) | 4.51 (7.18) | 3.78 (5.84) |
All percentages are based on number of residents (residencies). Percentages are suppressed where there was an underlying frequency of less than 10. See online supplementary file 3 for an assessment of the balance between Principia and the matched control groups.
*Functional dependence indicates a change in discharge destination from hospital to an institution providing more social and functional support than at hospital admission.
A&E, Accident & Emergency.