Health care for older people in Italy: The U.L.I.S.S.E. Project (Un link informatico sui servizi sanitari esistenti per l'anziano - a computerized network on health care services for older people).
OBJECTIVE
The U.L.I.S.S.E. study is aimed at describing older patients who are cared for in hospitals, home care or nursing homes in Italy.


METHODS
The U.L.I.S.S.E. study is an observational multicenter prospective 1-year study.


METHODS
Overall, 23 acute geriatric or internal medicine hospital units, 11 home care services and 31 nursing homes participated in the study.


METHODS
The patient's evaluation was performed using comprehensive geriatric assessment instruments, i.e. the interRAI Minimum Data Set, while data on service characteristics were recorded using ad-hoc designed questionnaires.


RESULTS
The older subjects who are in need of acute and long term care in Italy have similar characteristics: their mean age is higher than 80 years, they have a high level of disability in ADL, an important multimorbidity, and are treated with several drugs. The prevalence of cognitive impairment is particularly high in nursing homes, where almost 70% of residents suffer from it and 40% have severe cognitive impairment. On the other hand, there is a shortage of health care services, which are heterogeneous and fragmented.


CONCLUSIONS
Health care services for older people in Italy are currently inadequate to manage the complexity of the older patients. An important effort should be undertaken to create a more integrated health care system.
Lattanzio
F
F
Istituto Nazionale di Ricovero e Cura dell'Anziano INRCA, Ancona, Italy.
Mussi
C
C
Scafato
E
E
Ruggiero
C
C
Dell'Aquila
G
G
Pedone
C
C
Mammarella
F
F
Galluzzo
L
L
Salvioli
G
G
Senin
U
U
Carbonin
P U
PU
Bernabei
R
R
Cherubini
A
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019338:Polypharmacy; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012720:Severity of Illness Index