ABSTRACT
AIMS: This feasibility study investigates the utilization and cost of health resources related to formal and informal care, home adaptations, and physiotherapy among patients aged 60 years and above after hip fracture from a multicentre cohort study (World Hip Trauma Evaluation (WHiTE)) in the UK. METHODS: A questionnaire containing health resource use was completed at baseline and four months post-injury by patients or their carer. Completion rate and mean cost of each health resource item were assessed and sensitivity analysis was performed to derive a conservative estimate of the informal care cost. All costs are presented in 2017/18 pound sterling. RESULTS: A total of 4,183 patients from the WHiTE cohort completed the baseline questionnaire between May 2017 and April 2018, of whom 3,524 (84.2%) completed the four-month health resource section. Estimated mean costs of formal and informal care, home adaptations, and physiotherapy during the four months following injury were £2,843 (SD 5,467), £6,613 (SD 15,146), £706 (SD 1,706) and £9 (SD 33), respectively. Mean cost of informal care decreased to £660 (SD £1,040) in the sensitivity analysis when informal care was capped at 17.2 hours per day. CONCLUSION: Informal care is a significant source of costs after hip fracture and should therefore be included in future economical analyses of this patient group. Our results show that there is considerable variation in the interpretation of time-use of informal care among patients and further work is needed to improve how data regarding informal care are collected in order to obtain a more accurate cost estimate.Cite this article: Bone Joint Res. 2020;9(5):250-257.
ABSTRACT
AIMS: This study sought to determine the proportion of older adults with hip fractures captured by a multicentre prospective cohort, the World Hip Trauma Evaluation (WHiTE), whether there was evidence of selection bias during WHiTE recruitment, and the extent to which the WHiTE cohort is representative of the broader population of older adults with hip fractures. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The characteristics of patients recruited into the WHiTE cohort study were compared with those treated at WHiTE hospitals during the same timeframe and submitted to the National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD). RESULTS: Patients recruited to WHiTE were more likely to be admitted from their own home (83.5% vs 80.2%; p < 0.001) and to have a higher median Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS) (9 (interquartile range (IQR) 6 to 10) vs 9 (IQR 5 to 10); p < 0.001) than those who were not recruited. In terms of WHiTE cohort generalizability, participating hospitals included a greater proportion of Major Trauma Centres (47.8% vs 7.8%) and large hospitals (997 (IQR 873 to 1290) vs 707 (459 to 903) beds) with high-volume Emergency Departments (median annual attendances of 43 981 (IQR 37 147 to 54 385) vs 35 964 (IQR 26 229 to 50 551)). However, there were few differences in baseline characteristics between patients in the WHiTE cohort and those recorded in the NHFD. CONCLUSION: There is evidence of a weak selection bias towards recruiting fitter patients within the WHiTE cohort, which will help to put into context the findings of future studies. We conclude that the patients within the WHiTE cohort are representative of the national population of older adults with hip fractures throughout England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:708-714.
