Screening for frequent hospitalization risk among community-dwelling older adult between 2016 and 2023: machine learning-driven item selection, scoring system development, and prospective validation.
Journal:
Frontiers in public health
PMID:
39664532
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Screening for frequent hospitalizations in the community can help prevent super-utilizers from growing in the inpatient population. However, the determinants of frequent hospitalizations have not been systematically examined, their operational definitions have been inconsistent, and screening among community members lacks tools. Nor do we know if what determined frequent hospitalizations before COVID-19 continued to be the determinant of frequent hospitalizations at the height of the pandemic. Hence, the current study aims to identify determinants of frequent hospitalization and their screening items developed from the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), as our 273-item CGA is too lengthy to administer in full in community or primary care settings. The stability of the identified determinants will be examined in terms of the prospective validity of pre-COVID-selected items administered at the height of the pandemic.