Long-Term Care Service Trajectories and Their Predictors for Persons Living With Dementia: Results From a Canadian Study.

OBJECTIVE: We used latent transition analysis to explore common long-term care (LTC) service trajectories and their predictors for older adults with dementia.

METHOD: Using linked administrative data collected over a 4-year interval (2008-2011), the study sample included 3,541 older persons with dementia who were clients of publicly funded LTC in British Columbia, Canada.

RESULTS: Our results revealed relatively equal reliance on home care (HC) and facility-based residential care (RC) as starting points. HC service users were further differentiated into "intermittent HC" and "continuous HC" groups. Mortality was highest for the RC group. Age, changes in cognitive performance, and activities of daily living were important predictors of transitions into HC or RC.

DISCUSSION: Reliance on HC and RC by persons with dementia raises critical questions about ensuring that an adequate range of services is available in local communities to support aging in place and to ensure appropriate timing for entry into institutions.