D M Lentjes | PubMed Health

PubMedDate not supplied

A three-year census of dependent elderly.

One attempt to limit the rising health care cost for the expanding elderly population has been to control institutional utilization through community care programs. Evaluative research in this field has focussed on comparing community programs to institutionalization, rather than a simpler and more relevant examination of prevailing patterns of care. This latter approach is important for several reasons: it allows one to examine the effects of new programs; to predict future service needs; to evaluate effectiveness and appropriateness of current patterns of care; and it provides the basis for a co-ordinated approach to planning and policy. For the past three years, all institutions and community agencies in Calgary that provide care to the elderly have co-operated in an annual census to determine the location and services received by each person over 65. Study findings suggest directions for future policy and planning, and raise questions for future research.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Planned and unplanned home births and hospital births in Calgary, Alberta, 1984-87.

Information collected on all home births in Calgary (Canada) between the years 1984 and 1987, was examined and analyzed according to whether the home birth environment had been planned or unplanned. The two groups were compared to each other and to all hospital births according to demographic characteristics of mothers, indicators of prenatal care, and birth outcome. Mothers who had planned their home birth were more likely to be primiparous, attend prenatal classes, obtain regular prenatal care from a physician, and have babies with a higher birth weight than either the unplanned or hospital group. Of particular concern, however, were the subset of unplanned home births who were primiparous. These mothers attended prenatal classes less frequently than any other group, reported the lowest number of physician visits, were youngest, and least likely to be married. In addition their babies averaged the shortest gestational age and the lowest birth weight. Findings in general show that planned and unplanned home births must be considered as heterogeneous groups in any comparison of risk factors and of birth outcome between home and hospital births. Further, within the unplanned group, multiparous women differ from primiparous women. Given the limitations inherent in this and similar studies, the apparent better outcome in the planned home birth group, as measured by birth weight, must be viewed with caution.

Alberta↗