Critical Elements of Care Coordination for Older Persons in Rural Communities: An Evaluation of the Iowa Return to Community Service Demonstration

Abstract

We evaluated the Iowa Return to Community, a service demonstration designed to coordinate care and reduce preventable healthcare utilization among at-risk older persons living at home in rural communities. During 2021, 262 older persons elected to participate in the IRTC program. Individuals who participated were more likely to live in micropolitan areas (OR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.34–3.95) relative to metropolitan locations. Individuals who used recommended services were more likely to be men (OR 3.65, 95% CI 1.16–11.51) and more likely to live in rural (OR 17.48, 95% CI 1.37–223.68) and micropolitan areas (OR 3.17, 95% CI 1.00–10.05). However, prevention of health care use corresponded more with consistent and prolonged IRTC program engagement rather than volume of service use. The IRTC constitutes a population aging and rural health strategy to reduce unnecessary health care use while supporting individual preferences to remain at home.