Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Home medical equipment receipt in a home care appropriate population.

Weaver FM, Giobbie-Hurder AG, Hughes SL, Smith G, Kubal JD, Ulasevich A. Home medical equipment receipt in a home care appropriate population. Journal of aging and health. 1999 Nov 1; 11(4):494-516.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

OBJECTIVES. This study examines home medical equipment (HME) receipt for 1,040 veterans considered appropriate for home health services. METHODS. HME receipt was monitored for 12 months using the Department of Veterans Affairs' Prosthetics database. RESULTS. Eighty-three percent received at least one item; averaging 7.4 items (SD = 6.8). The most common items included commodes/bath benches (9%), canes/walkers (7%), safety equipment (7%), liquid oxygen (6%), and wheelchairs (6%). Two functional status variables, home care use and race, correctly classified 69% of HME recipients. Logistic regressions were run for specific equipment; c-indices ranged from .64 to .75. Age, race, income, functional status, risk of hospital readmission, and home care use were significant predictors. DISCUSSION. HME accounted for $4.5 billion in sales (16% of total) for medical products in 1996. As the HME market continues to expand, the characteristics of HME recipients are necessary to project future HME needs in a growing, elderly population.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.