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Table 2 Baseline characteristics of the ITT population (N = 480)

From: Interdisciplinary collaboration across secondary and primary care to improve medication safety in the elderly (The IMMENSE study) – a randomized controlled trial

Characteristics

Intervention group n = 244

Control group n = 236

Age, mean years (SD)

83.3

(6.4)

83.0

(6.3)

Sex, female, n (%)

152

(62.3)

127

(53.8)

Study Site, n (%)

  Geriatric ward (study site 1)

198

(81.1)

191

(80.9)

  General medicine ward (study site 2)a

46

(18.9)

45

(19.1)

  Ability to self-provide consent, n (%)

174

(71.3)

160

(67.8)

Marital status, n (%)

  Widow/widower

107

(43.9)

104

(44.1)

  Married/live in partnership

101

(41.4)

88

(37.2)

  Single/ Divorced/separated

34

(13.9)

41

(17.4)

  Missing

2

(0.8)

3

(1.3)

Educational level, ISCED levelb n (%)

  Elementary school, level 1

107

(43.9)

109

(46.2)

  Lower/upper Secondary education, level 2–3

93

(38.1)

81

(34.3)

  Higher education (< 4 years), level 5–6

22

(9.0)

18

(7.6)

  Higher education (> 4 years), level 7–9

11

(4.5)

12

(5.1)

  Missing

11

(4.5)

16

(6.8)

Living status upon admission, n (%)

  Home, no help from home care services

88

(36.1)

69

(29.2)

  Home, with help from home care services

116

(47.5)

139

(58.9)

  Nursing home, short term

22

(9.0)

13

(5.5)

  Nursing home, permanent

18

(7.4)

15

(6.4)

  Discharge to home, n (%)

151

(61.9)

132

(55.9)

Handling medications themselves, n (%)

  Yes

94

(38.5)

80

(33.9)

  No

104

(42.6)

101

(42.8)

  Partly

46

(18.9)

54

(22.9)

  Missing

0

 

1

(0.4)

Co-morbidityc (median score, IQR)

  Charlson comorbidity index

2

(1–3.75)

2

(1–4)

Number of medications (ATC-codes) in use at hospital admission, Median (IQR)

  Total

8

(5–12)

9

(6–13)

  Regular use

6

(4–9)

7

(4–10)

  Use as needed

2

(0–3)

2

(0–3)

Medical history in admission notes, n (%)

  Hypertension

125

(51.5)

113

(47.9)

  Atrial fibrillation

67

(27.5)

65

(27.5)

  Asthma or COPD

55

(22.5)

53

(22.5)

  Diabetes Mellitus

50

(20.5)

52

(22.0)

  Heart failure

40

(16.4)

36

(15.3)

  Dementia

34

(13.9)

32

(13.6)

Emergency medical visits, one year before index hospital stay

  Emergency medical visits, n (% with ≥ 1)

462

(68.4)

548

(72.5)

  Emergency medical visits, median (IQR)

1

(0–3)

1

(0–3)

  1. Abbrevations: ATC anatomical therapeutic chemical classification system, IRQ interquartile range, ISCED international standard classification of education, SD standard deviation
  2. a) no specialized geriatric ward existed at this hospital, but four beds in the study ward was dedicated to patients with geriatric concerns
  3. b) educational level categorized by the international standard classification of education [31]
  4. c) co-morbidity based on diagnosis found in admission and discharge papers from index admission, calculated in accordance with Charlson et al. [32]
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