Data on Pneumonia Reported by Bin Zhu and Colleagues (Effect of China’s Long-term Care Insurance on Health Outcomes of Older Disabled People: Role of Institutional Care): Lung Diseases and Conditions – Pneumonia

2023 JUL 20 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Lung Diseases and Conditions - Pneumonia is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Sichuan, People’s Republic of China, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Since the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) system was piloted in Chengdu, China in October 2017, there has been a considerable growth of LTC institutions in China. This study aimed to evaluate the health value effect of LTCI in older patients with severe disabilities in an LTC institution.”

Financial support for this research came from The National Key R&D Program of China.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research, “This prospective study was based on data from 985 severe disability patients with or without LTCI from October 2017 to May 2021 in the Eighth People’s Hospital, Chengdu, China. The Cox proportional hazard model estimated LTCI’s health value, including survival probability and risk of pneumonia/pressure ulcers. Subgroup analysis was performed for sex, age, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and the number of drugs. In the analysis 519 and 466 patients in LTCI and non-LTCI groups, respectively, were included. In adjusted Cox analyses, the LTCI group had a significantly elevated survival rate compared with the non-LTCI groups at 12 months (P <0.001, HR=1.758, 95% CI 1.300-2.376). At 40 months, the adjusted survival rate was 62.6% in the LTCI group, which was significantly higher (53.7%; P=0.003, HR=1.438, 95% CI 1.131-1.831). The subgroups of patients aged 60 to 79 years (interaction P=0.007) and CCI 3 (interaction P=0.026) were more significantly associated with survival improvement than those aged >80 years and CCI < 3. The LTCI group was also at lower risk for hospital-acquired pneumonia (P=0.016, HR 0.622, 95% CI 0.422-0.917) and pressure ulcers (P=0.008, HR 0.695, 95% CI 0.376-0.862). The improved survival of LTCI remained stable in sensitivity analyses.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “For older patients with severe disabilities, in a long-term care institution, LTCI significantly improved their health profile and longevity after a year, suggesting the large role and development potentiality of institution care in the LTCI system of China.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Effect of China’s Long-term Care Insurance on Health Outcomes of Older Disabled People: Role of Institutional Care. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 2023. International Journal for Quality in Health Care can be contacted at: Oxford Univ Press, Great Clarendon St, Oxford OX2 6DP, England. (Oxford University Press - http://www.oup.com/; International Journal for Quality in Health Care - intqhc.oxfordjournals.org)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Bin Zhu, Eighth People’s Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China. Additional authors for this research include Jin-Qiu Zhou, Yu-Hua Yan, Li-Sha Hou, Jin-Hui Wu, Bi-Rong Dong and Qing-Yu Dou.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzad054. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the International Journal for Quality in Health Care is: Oxford Univ Press, Great Clarendon St, Oxford OX2 6DP, England.

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