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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Aging Psychiatry
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1403028

The impact of the new model of day care on the mental health status and cognitive functions of patients with disabilities treated in Day Medical Care Homes in Poland, 2017-2023

Provisionally accepted
Mateusz Jankowski Mateusz Jankowski 1Leszek Warsz Leszek Warsz 2,3*Agata Andrzejczyk Agata Andrzejczyk 4*Mariusz Gujski Mariusz Gujski 2
  • 1 School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland
  • 2 Department of Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Masovian, Poland
  • 3 Medical and Diagnostic Center, Siedlce, Poland
  • 4 Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Masovian, Poland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Day Medical Care Home is a care and treatment institution providing day care services for people with disabilities (mainly older adults), implemented in Poland since 2015. This study aimed to analyze the impact of the new model of day care on the mental health status and cognitive functions of older adults with disabilities treated in Day Medical Care Homes in Poland, 2017-2023. Methods: Admission and discharge reports of 949 patients treated in Day Medical Care Homes between 2017 and 2023 were analyzed. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) were used to assess mental health. Cognitive functions were assessed using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).Results: The mean age was 74.3 ± 8.5 years, 76.6% were women. and 62.6% lived in rural areas. The percentage of patients with moderate or severe depression measured with a GDS-15 score decreased from 58.3% on admission to 34.6% on discharge (p<0.001). The percentage of patients with depressive disorders measured with HAM-D score decreased from 48.3% on admission to 37.2% on discharge (p<0.001). The percentage of patients with dementia or cognitive disorders measured with the MMSE score decreased from 54.3% on admission to 40.5% on discharge (p<0.001). Improvement in mental health status and cognitive functions was observed in all sociodemographic groups. Conclusions: Day Medical Care Home is an effective model of day care that improves the mental health status and cognitive functions of older adults with disabilities.

    Keywords: Mental Health, older adults, Aging, Day Care, Organization of health

    Received: 18 Mar 2024; Accepted: 11 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jankowski, Warsz, Andrzejczyk and Gujski. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Leszek Warsz, Department of Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Masovian, Poland
    Agata Andrzejczyk, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, 02-091, Masovian, Poland

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