Impact of a health promotion nurse intervention on disability and health care costs among elderly adults with heart conditions.
BACKGROUND
Patients with heart conditions in rural areas may have different responses to health promotion-disease Self-management interventions compared to their urban counterparts.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate the impact of a multi-component health promotion nurse intervention on physical function and total health care expenditures among elderly adults with heart conditions and to examine the impact of rural residence on the intervention effect.


METHODS
We analyzed data on 281 community-living Medicare beneficiaries with heart conditions from the Medicare Primary and Consumer-Directed Care Demonstration (a randomized controlled trial). We estimated ordinary least squares (OLS) models to determine the effect of the intervention on the change in functional status and log-linear models to determine the impact of the intervention on total health care expenditures over a 2-year period.


RESULTS
The OLS models showed that the nurse intervention resulted in fewer impairments in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) (-0.307 on 0-6 scale, P = .055) at the end of 2 years. The effect of the intervention on ADL appeared to be stronger for rural than for urban participants (-0.490 vs -0.162, respectively). However, the difference was not statistically significant (P = .150). The effect of the intervention on Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) was not significant (P = .321). Average total health care expenditures were 6.5% ($1,981, 95% CI: -$8,048, $4,087) lower in the nurse group.


CONCLUSIONS
The nurse intervention led to better physical functioning and has potential to reduce total health care expenditures among high-risk Medicare beneficiaries with heart conditions.
Meng
Hongdao
H
Department of Preventive Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8338, USA. hongdao.meng@stonybrook.edu
Wamsley
Brenda R
BR
Eggert
Gerald M
GM
Van Nostrand
Joan F
JF
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004471:Economics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012424:Rural Population; D014481:United States