Regional Factors and Ambulatory Care–Sensitive Condition Hospitalizations in Older Japanese Adults

Which municipal-level factors are associated with ambulatory care–sensitive condition (ACSC) hospitalizations among older Japanese adults, and to what extent do these factors account for variations in hospitalization risk?Among over 1.27 million older adults included in this cohort study, municipalities accounted for 6.0% of variations in ACSC hospitalizations. Increased access to outpatient, home-based, and rehabilitation resources was associated with a lower risk, whereas more nursing home beds and a higher proportion of older adults living alone were associated with an increased risk.These findings suggest that improving community health care capacity, strengthening medical long-term care coordination, and mitigating social isolation may reduce avoidable hospitalizations among older adults.

Corresponding Author: Kazuhiro Abe, MD, PhD, Department of Health Care Policy, Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 15 Nishi 7, Kitaku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8638, Japan (kazuhiro.abe.1215@pop.med.hokudai.ac.jp).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.