title: Length of hospital stay and discharge disposition in older trauma patients.
abstract: As the number of older adults increases and life expectancies are increasing, more incidences of traumatic injury are expected in this population. In this study, the relationships between demographic variables, pain, days from admission to therapy evaluation, length of stay and discharge disposition were examined in 132 older adults who had experienced a traumatic event. Results showed that significant relationships existed between pain, age, comorbidities, injury severity and days from admission to therapy evaluation and length of stay; those with less pain, greater age and had more days between admission and when the first therapy evaluation occurred had longer lengths of stay. In addition, demographic variables, overall length of stay and pain intensity during therapy were associated with discharge location; for longer lengths of stay and higher pain, older trauma patients were less likely to be discharged to home.
authors: University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. Electronic address: Rbrot001@son.umaryland.edu.
authors: Rebecca A
authors: RA
authors: Brotemarkle
authors: University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Resnick
authors: University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors: Kathleen
authors: K
authors: Michaels
authors: The University of Utah College of Nursing, 10 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
authors: Patricia
authors: P
authors: Morton
authors: University of Maryland School of Medicine, Allied Health Building, 100 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors: Chris
authors: C
authors: Wells
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D010351:Patient Discharge; D014193:Trauma Centers; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Discharge Disposition; Length of Stay; Older adults; Pain; Therapy; Trauma