Risk Factors for Hospital Admission in Elderly Public Housing Tenants

To identify potential risk factors for hospital admission, we interviewed elderly (range: 62-94; mean = 74.6 years) public housing tenants using a broad-based assessment instrument. Persons reporting more depressive symptoms, worse physical health, and decreased ability to perform physical self-maintenance activities were hospitalized nearly twice as frequently in the one year subsequent to the baseline interview. We conclude that traditional health status measures are better predictors of hospital admissions than social factors. By identifying high-risk patients, health care professionals may be able to intervene in the outpatient setting to reduce patients' use of expensive inpatient care.