Resource use and its association to cognitive impairment, ADL functions, and behavior in residents of Swedish nursing homes: Results from the U-Age program (SWENIS study)

Objectives We aimed to investigate resource use and its association to cognitive impairment, activities of daily living, and neuropsychiatric symptoms in residents of Swedish nursing homes. Methods Data were collected in 2014 from a Swedish national sample of nursing home residents (n = 4831) and were collected by staff in the facility. The sample consists of all nursing homes in 35 of 60 randomly selected Swedish municipalities. Demographic data and data on resource use, cognitive and physical function as well as neuropsychiatric symptoms were collected through proxies. Descriptive statistics and regression modeling were used to investigate this association. Results We found that cognitive impairment, activities of daily living, and neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with 23 hours per week increase in total resource use versus cognitively intact persons. This was also the case for being dependent in activities of daily living. Being totally dependent increased the amount of resource use by 25 hours per week. The sex of a resident did not influence the resource use. Annual costs of resource use with no functional dependency were 359 685 SEK, and in severely cognitive impaired resident, the cost was 825 081 SEK. Conclusion Being cognitively impaired as well as functionally dependent increases the resource use significantly in nursing homes. This has implications for differentiation of costs in institutional settings in health economic evaluations.