Medical social worker support for elderly patients in a tertiary care hospital in Japan

When elderly patients are admitted to a hospital, they may require support from medical social workers during hospitalization. This study examined the association between patient characteristics and support provided by medical social workers in applications for social welfare benefits during hospitalization. We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients aged 65 years or older between October 2018 and September 2021 who had involvement by a medical social worker during their hospitalization at a tertiary care hospital in Japan. We evaluated associations between background factors and support in applying for social welfare benefits by medical social workers using logistic regression analysis. Findings Among 485 eligible patients, 79 (16.3%) received support from a medical social worker in an application for social welfare benefits. Early elderly age (65-74 years) and living alone were independently associated with receiving support from medical social workers (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16-3.37, P = .012; 3.86, 95% CI 2.26-6.62, P < .001, respectively), regardless of sex, activities of daily living before admission, and presence of a regular doctor. Application The findings suggest that early elderly individuals who live alone may not be able to utilize the available welfare benefits and not have adequate support from family members when admitted to a tertiary care hospital, even if they have adequate activities of daily living and a regular doctor. Early intervention to improve social vulnerability may be required for early elderly individuals who live alone.