Hospital Utilization among Persons with an Intellectual Disability, Ontario, Canada, 1995–2001

Abstract

Background It has been suggested that persons with an intellectual disability consume a disproportionate amount of hospital services. Policy changes in Ontario in the 1970s and 1980s made it necessary for community health services to accommodate this population that formerly received most of its medical care in the institutions where they lived. It is frequently suggested that community health services are currently inadequate to care for this population. Methods The study was a retrospective analysis of routinely collected hospitalization data for persons living in Ontario with an intellectual disability, between 1995 and 2001. Results A substantial proportion of hospitalizations of persons with an intellectual disability were for mental disorders and dental diseases. Of all in‐hospital stays, one‐third were for mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. Of all day‐surgery admissions, almost 40% were for dental diseases corresponding to a high rate of dental procedures. The study also identified high ambulatory care‐sensitive condition hospitalization rates. In‐hospital surgical procedure rates, however, were low. Interpretation This study is the first to fully describe patterns of hospitalization for persons with an intellectual disability in Ontario, Canada. A recurring finding is the large discrepancy between statistics for persons with an intellectual disability and published data for the general population. The study limitations mean further research is required to confirm the results and to determine if persons with an intellectual disability are receiving the health care they are entitled to in Ontario.

Emergency Psychiatric Service Use by Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities Living With Family

“…However, research has shown that these community-based services are unable to adequately deal with the concerns of individuals with ID and their family caregivers, particularly in regard to mental health issues (Lunsky, Garcin, Morin, Cobigo, & Bradley, 2007;Spiller et al, 2007;Ziring et al, 1988). Past research in Canada has found individuals with ID to be disproportionately high users of mental health services, with mental health issues accounting for the majority of hospitalizations in this population (Balogh, Hunter, & Ouellette-Kuntz, 2005;Lunsky & Balogh, 2010) and emergency department (ED) use occurring more than twice as frequently in those with a psychiatric disorder and ID as in those with a psychiatric disorder without ID (Lunsky et al, 2011). Individuals with ID are recognized to be at a greater risk for developing problem behaviors and mental health issues than the general population (Emerson & Hatton, 2007;Whitaker & Read, 2006).…”

An evaluation of the effectiveness of annual health checks and quality of health care for adults with intellectual disability: an observational study using a primary care database

“…There are three other large-scale studies [139][140][141] on hospitalisations of adults with ID that we are aware of, but none differentiated between emergency and planned admissions. Our focus on preventable emergency admissions means that any comparison is difficult, as we would not expect good primary care management to decrease planned admissions for ACSCs.…”

A Review of Health Surveillance in Older Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

“…The choice of codes to include was informed by other studies (Balogh, Hunter, & Ouellette-Kuntz, 2005;Ouellette-Kuntz et al, 2009;Westerinen, Kaski, Virta, Almqvist, & Iivanainen, 2007). Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities were defined as anyone who had at least one of the listed codes during a hospital stay, emergency room visit, or home care assessment, or who had at least two physician claims with such codes or who had a designation within a list of "conditions related to developmental disability status" in the Chronic Care Reporting System for Long-Term Care.…”