Chen TL, Feng YH, Kao SL, Lu JW, Loh CH. Impact of integrated health care on elderly population: A systematic review of Taiwan's experience.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2022;
102:104746. [PMID:
35691276 DOI:
10.1016/j.archger.2022.104746]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 06/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Care fragmentation in the elderly population prompted the need for integrated health care systems. However, evidence regarding the impact of the integrated care system in Taiwan is unclear. We aimed to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the impact of Taiwan's integrated health care programs on geriatric population.
METHODS
We searched bibliographic databases MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Airiti Library for relevant publications throughout May 2022. Studies investigating the effectiveness of Taiwan's integrated care programs were included. We used the critical appraisal skills programme (CASP) checklist, to assess the risk of bias of included studies.
RESULTS
Thirty-four studies, with a total of 838,026 study subjects, were assessed. The systematic review on 11 subthemes (diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, hepatitis C virus, fractures, cancer, dementia, atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mechanical ventilation, terminal illness, outpatients and community-dwelling patients), demonstrated that the implementation of integrated health care could not only provide benefits on survival, self-care ability, health quality, physical, and functional rehabilitation outcomes, but also significantly reduce medical utilization and expenditures.
CONCLUSION
The integrated health care system for multiple morbidities benefits the Taiwanese geriatric population in physical and functional outcomes. The thematic synthesis provides references for future rigorous clinical trials.
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