Effect of enhanced home support: a retrospective study of the « Ehpad-@-Dom » project

INTRODUCTION: The growing needs related to the loss of autonomy of elderly people should be the opportunity to imagine alternatives to nursing homes. In this context, our study aimed to assess the effect of a reinforced home care model on the evolution of frailty in elderly people whose health conditions could have justified entering a nursing home. METHODS: A retrospective observational study focusing on the evolution of the SEGA score and other variables reflecting the frailty of people over 75 years old according to classic home care, institutionalization, or reinforced home care. RESULTS: The average SEGA scores of the Ehpad-@-Dom (reinforced home care) and SAD (classic home care) groups are significantly better than that of the Ehpad group after 6 months (T6: Ehpad-@-Dom vs Ehpad, p =0.01 and SAD vs Ehpad, p=0.039) and 12 months (T12: Ehpad-@-Dom vs Ehpad, p=0.021). CONCLUSION: “Reinforced home care” seems to be an alternative to the classic nursing home model.