title: Intra-institutional relocation: measured impact upon geriatric patients.
abstract: A study was designed to measure the impact of intra-hospital relocation upon elderly patients transferred to intermediate, skilled nursing, or psychiatric care facilities. The subjects were 389 elderly residents of a psychiatric hospital. Their mean age was 76.2 years, and mean length of hospitalization 22.4 years. A before-and-after analysis was made of behavior rating scores, and the mortality rate was compared with baseline values. The findings indicated that, for this type of reorganization, no deterioration was evident in the measured behaviors, nor did the move cause sufficient stress to have a substantial impact on mortality. It was concluded that, contrary to numerous reports in the literature, the mass relocation of elderly patients for the purpose of delivering more appropriate treatment services does not necessarily have detrimental effects. Additional research is required to account for outcomes related to the interaction between more specific personal characteristics and environmental components.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001519:Behavior; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006760:Hospitalization; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D009026:Mortality; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D010414:Pennsylvania; D014187:Transportation of Patients