Achieving Goals in Geriatric Assessment: Role of Caregiver Agreement and Adherence to Recommendations

Abstract

Objectives: To determine predictors of recommendation adherence and goal attainment of family caregivers of patients at a geriatric assessment center. Design: One‐year prospective cohort study. Setting: Outpatient geriatric assessment center in Connecticut. Participants: Two hundred consecutive new patients and their family caregivers. Measurements: Family caregivers were interviewed after geriatric assessment to ascertain their treatment goals for the patient. Medical records were reviewed to identify treatment recommendations. Family caregivers were interviewed 1 year later to assess adherence to recommendations and attainment of goals. Results: Follow‐up interviews were completed with 176 (88%) family caregivers. Common recommendations pertained to physician referral (71%), medications (46%), counseling/education (31%), diagnostic tests (30%), residential planning (26%), healthcare planning (21%), and community services (21%). Goal attainment was reported in 44% to 67% of the patient cases, depending on goal category. Caregiver agreement with recommendations predicted adherence to recommendations (adjusted relative risk (ARR)=1.99, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.04–5.92) after adjusting for available clinical and demographic factors. In addition, adherence to recommendations predicted goal attainment in adjusted analyses (ARR=1.70, 95% CI=1.09–2.64). Conclusion: This study revealed a broad range of treatment recommendations in geriatric assessment and suggests that agreeing with recommendations can promote adherence and that adherence can promote goal attainment. Taken together, the results imply that articulating shared treatment recommendations may improve the quality of health care.