Background: This study analyses the factors related to the institutionalization of dependent patients living in the community and receiving informal care from relatives.
Methods: The study is based on a 3-year follow-up of a sample of 205 pairs (carereceiver-caregiver). Eligible care receivers were aged 65 years and over, living at home, and physically or mentally dependent. Caregivers were interviewed at inclusion and three years later in order to know whether the elderly was institutionalized or still living at home.
Results: Cox proportional hazards analysis indicated that significant predictors of subsequent institutionalization were intention to institutionalize (p = 0.001), caregiver type (p = 0.015), caregiver's subjective perception of patient behavior problems (p = 0.009), and, at a lesser extent, to live in a urban environment (p = 0.051). The functional status and the carereceiver's age were not predictive of institutionalization.
Conclusion: This study emphasizes the importance of subjective factors and characteristics of the primary caregiver in predicting institutionalization of elderly dependent persons.