Health Care Utilization Among Clients With Alzheimer's Disease: Public Policy Implications From the California Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Center Program

Abstract

This study examines health and social service utilization among Alzheimer's disease clients of the California Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADDTC) Program. This longitudinal study includes a nonrandom sample of program participants from 1988 to 1992 with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (N = 737). Sample characteristics, service utilization rates, and recommendations for service use by ADDTC staff are described. Comparisons of service utilization at baseline assessment and first-annual assessment are made for 10 health and social services—physician services, senior center services, congregate or home-delivered meals, home health care, homemaker-chore services, adult day care, case management, transportation services, residential care, and nursing home care. The influence of ADDTC staff recommendations on subsequent service utilization is assessed and policy implications regarding the efficacy of these recommendations are discussed.