AN ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF GROUP LIVING CARE IN COMPARISONTO TRADITIONAL LONG-TERM-CARE ON DEMENTED ELDERLY PATIENTS

Group living (GL) care for demented elderly is an established model of care in Sweden. This study analyzes the outcome of care in terms of t ime of GL care, survival and care load for demented patients when exte nded home care no longer is considered sufficient. Twenty-eight patien ts, mean age 83 years, suffering from dementia of Alzheimer type or va scular dementia and previously institutionalized, were relocated from long-term care wards into GL units. These patients were compared to a matched sample of patients remaining in traditional institutional (TI) care. No difference in survival was observed between the two groups a fter three years, nor between length of stay in GL for the different d iagnostic groups. However in patients in GL, symptoms of dementia and functional decline were less prominent than in TI. This was most marke d after six months when some improvements in the GL group were registe red, The more positive outcome in GL patients abates with time due to the natural course of the diseases. After three years, the two patient groups showed a similar pattern of global deterioration with a tenden cy toward less care load in the GL group. Offering GL care as an alter native to TI might raise the quality of life in the demented elderly f or a period of 2-2.5 years.