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Browsing by Author "Pirraglia, Paul"

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    A Break-Even Analysis for Dementia Care Collaboration: Partners in Dementia Care
    (Springer, 2015) Morgan, Robert O.; Bass, David M.; Judge, Katherine S.; Liu, C. F.; Wilson, Nancy; Snow, A. Lynn; Pirraglia, Paul; Garcia-Maldonado, Maurilio; Raia, Paul; Fouladi, N. N.; Kunik, Mark E.; University of Texas Health Science Center Houston; University of Texas School Public Health; Cleveland State University; US Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans Health Administration (VHA); Vet Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System; University of Washington; University of Washington Seattle; Baylor College of Medicine; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Providence VA Medical Center; Brown University; Alzheimer's Association
    Dementia is a costly disease. People with dementia, their families, and their friends are affected on personal, emotional, and financial levels. Prior work has shown that the "Partners in Dementia Care" (PDC) intervention addresses unmet needs and improves psychosocial outcomes and satisfaction with care. We examined whether PDC reduced direct Veterans Health Administration (VHA) health care costs compared with usual care. This study was a cost analysis of the PDC intervention in a 30-month trial involving five VHA medical centers. Study subjects were veterans (N = 434) 50 years of age and older with dementia and their caregivers at two intervention (N = 269) and three comparison sites (N = 165). PDC is a telephone-based care coordination and support service for veterans with dementia and their caregivers, delivered through partnerships between VHA medical centers and local Alzheimer's Association chapters. We tested for differences in total VHA health care costs, including hospital, emergency department, nursing home, outpatient, and pharmacy costs, as well as program costs for intervention participants. Covariates included caregiver reports of veterans' cognitive impairment, behavior problems, and personal care dependencies. We used linear mixed model regression to model change in log total cost post-baseline over a 1-year follow-up period. Intervention participants showed higher VHA costs than usual-care participants both before and after the intervention but did not differ significantly regarding change in log costs from pre- to post-baseline periods. Pre-baseline log cost (p a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.001), baseline cognitive impairment (p a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.05), number of personal care dependencies (p a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.01), and VA service priority (p a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.01) all predicted change in log total cost. These analyses show that PDC meets veterans' needs without significantly increasing VHA health care costs. PDC addresses the priority area of care coordination in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease, offering a low-cost, structured, protocol-driven, evidence-based method for effectively delivering care coordination.
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    A controlled trial of Partners in Dementia Care: veteran outcomes after six and twelve months
    (BMC, 2014) Bass, David M.; Judge, Katherine S.; Snow, A. Lynn; Wilson, Nancy L.; Morgan, Robert O.; Maslow, Katie; Randazzo, Ronda; Moye, Jennifer A.; Odenheimer, Germaine L.; Archambault, Elizabeth; Elbein, Richard; Pirraglia, Paul; Teasdale, Thomas A.; McCarthy, Catherine A.; Looman, Wendy J.; Kunik, Mark E.; Cleveland State University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; US Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans Health Administration (VHA); Baylor College of Medicine; University of Texas Health Science Center Houston; University of Texas School Public Health; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine; Alzheimer's Association; Harvard University; VA Boston Healthcare System; University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center; Providence VA Medical Center; Brown University
    Introduction: "Partners in Dementia Care" (PDC) tested the effectiveness of a care-coordination program integrating healthcare and community services and supporting veterans with dementia and their caregivers. Delivered via partnerships between Veterans Affairs medical centers and Alzheimer's Association chapters, PDC targeted both patients and caregivers, distinguishing it from many non-pharmacological interventions. Hypotheses posited PDC would improve five veteran self-reported outcomes: 1) unmet need, 2) embarrassment about memory problems, 3) isolation, 4) relationship strain and 5) depression. Greater impact was expected for more impaired veterans. A unique feature was self-reported research data collected from veterans with dementia. Methods and Findings: Five matched communities were study sites. Two randomly selected sites received PDC for 12 months; comparison sites received usual care. Three structured telephone interviews were completed every 6 months with veterans who could participate. Results: Of 508 consenting veterans, 333 (65.6%) completed baseline interviews. Among those who completed baseline interviews, 263 (79.0%) completed 6-month follow-ups and 194 (58.3%) completed 12-month follow-ups. Regression analyses showed PDC veterans had significantly less adverse outcomes than those receiving usual care, particularly for more impaired veterans after 6 months, including reduced relationship strain (B = -0.09; p = 0.05), depression (B = -0.10; p = 0.03), and unmet need (B = -0.28; p = 0.02; and B = -0.52; p = 0.08). PDC veterans also had less embarrassment about memory problems (B = -0.24; p = 0.08). At 12 months, more impaired veterans had further reductions in unmet need (B = -0.96; p < 0.01) and embarrassment (B = -0.05; p = 0.02). Limitations included use of matched comparison sites rather than within-site randomization and lack of consideration for variation within the PDC group in amounts and types of assistance provided. Conclusions: Partnerships between community and health organizations have the potential to meet the dementia-related needs and improve the psychosocial functioning of persons with dementia.