Aim: The aim of the study was to describe health, social and informal care utilization and costs for older adults with multimorbidity. The design was descriptive and retrospective.
Methods: The setting was a medium-sized town in an urban area of Sweden and included 10 health centers. Data were collected during 2011 using individual, structured interviews with the informal carers of 20 older adults with multimorbidity. Retrospectively, for a period of 18 months, data were also collected from the older adults’ patient registers and records, as data regarding the costs of their health and social care, in- and out-patient care and municipal care including home services.
Results: The primary result was that older adults with multimorbidity utilize health and social care from different principals, through different contacts. The results also provide insight into the complexity of these older adults’ daily living. Their 18-month health and social care costs varied between 12,084 and 137,187 Euros. For 12 older adults who utilized informal care, their calculated costs varied between 2,092 and 70,590 Euros.
Conclusion: The conclusion is that the increasing number of older adults with multimorbidity and their health and social care utilization and costs should be taken into account in healthcare policy and the organization of health and social care.