[Cooperation concerning admission to and discharge of elderly people from the hospital. 2. The course 1 year after discharge].

In connection with the health visitor's work in a hospital, a controlled and randomized investigation was undertaken among hospitalized patients of 65 years and over from the municipality of Rødovre. The efforts made in hospital were described in a previous article. Out of the intervention group of 135 patients, 125 were discharged alive. Of these, 114 were visited on one or more occasions immediately after discharge with the object of discussing the process of admission and review of the health and social circumstances to ensure adequate and relevant supportive measures. A total of 125 persons from a comparable control group were discharged alive after having received the usual offers of assistance during and after hospitalization. The two groups were followed for one year after discharge as regards the number of deaths and the utilization of hospital, waiting departments and the municipal residential institutions and home-help and home nursing services. No differences were found between the groups as regards the number of deaths, number of re-admissions and the duration of hospitalization. A total of three persons from the intervention group and 14 from the control group utilized wasting departments, nursing homes or residential places in day and night homes. Altogether these persons utilized 774 and 2,136 days, respectively, in institutions during the year after discharge. The intervention group employed more home-help hours and visits from home visitors. This attempt at co-ordination thus appears to the capable of reducing the needs for municipal residential places in patients with considerable loss of function.