There is a growing phenomenon in a sector of the United States population where senior citizens and disabled persons that are deemed as homebound are becoming increasingly dependent on their caregivers and as a result, they are experiencing an evolving disconnection from their occupational identity. The problem being considered is that as older adults become homebound, they begin to receive support services for assistance with self-care and home management. From this, the experience of the homebound consumer reducing engagement in necessary tasks in the home causes a decline in functional abilities which then reduces engagement in portions of the functional tasks that they may still possess the skills to participate in safely. To address this issue, research has explored how function and restorative based training for caregivers can improve quality of life, health, and function, as well as reduce health care costs. The Home Able program is a caregiver training program designed to promote occupational engagement for persons living in the community in private residences. This program has been developed as an evidence-based health promotion program designed to increase physical and mental health of persons that are homebound. The format of the program will include individual and group format training for state funded caregivers on the positive health impact of occupational engagement. Then, homebound consumers who are participants in the Home Able program will receive a series of six weekly in-home sessions focusing on identification of barriers that are impeding participation in meaningful functional activities in the home and education on compensatory strategies that can be implemented for the homebound consumer to achieve participation in meaningful occupations. A research project has also been developed to coincide with program implementation to determine how participation in the Home Able Program will impact fear of falling, depression and self-perceived quality of life. The design of the study with compare the homebound consumer’s fear of falling, depression and self-perceived quality of life using standardized measurement tools prior to program participation, and after completion of the Home Able program. The results of this research project will help substantiate the positive health impact on functional mobility, mental health and enrollment in the Home Able program to help foster buy-in from local and national stakeholders.

Food distribution (FD) is a part of the public social and care service in Sweden aiming to prevent improper food intake for persons that they are unable to do their own shopping, and prepare their own meals, and in that way ensure reasonable standard of living. Before a person can be granted the FD service, from any municipality, an assessment of their individual requirements has to be made by a public home care officer. The aim of this study was to explore how public home care officers reason when they make a needs assessment for homebound elderly people. The data was collected through individual interviews (n=18). The transcribed interview material was analysed by means of the grounded theory method. The findings showed that the public home care officers were confronted with many challenges when making an assessment of a person’s individual needs. They are influenced by their subjective feelings related to their personal views as to what should be the right solution for the individual. However, they remained aware that they needed to be guided by the legal requirements.  Further, they described that the level of an individual’s living standard is a leading concept in the governing laws that they need to interpret. Interpretation of this concept is very subjective with the possible consequence that an assessment result may lead to inefficient support. In conclusion, the concept of a reasonable standard of living needs to be clearly defined, decision regarding FD should not take long time, need assessment and decision should be based on the whole picture behind each individual case and there are needs to develop general guidelines for making needs assessment. The findings in this study have implications for public administration, nursing and gerontology.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2005. / Title from title page screen, viewed September 26, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Dent M. Rhodes (chair), Robert L. Dean, Barbara B. Meyer, Cheri A. Toledo. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-196) and abstract. Also available in print.

The rising cost of health care and changes in healthcare delivery have prompted a need to improve continuity from the hospital to home. This scholarly project was initiated to assess the impact on patient outcomes related to initiation of a nurse practitioner-led transitional care program (TCP). Using the Diffusion of Innovations and Health Belief Models, the purpose of this study was to identify the impact of a TCP on improving the health of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), diabetes mellitus Type II (DM II), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). The impact of the TCP was evaluated by a review of patient satisfaction results, reduction in patient readmission rate, and emergency room consults. Two years of data from a community-based health care program were collated from a sample of 819 individuals with chronic disease between 65- and 85-years-old who had a 30-day hospital readmission after a nurse practitioner home visit and a 30- day readmission for an exacerbation of their CHF, DM II, or COPD. The secondary data were analyzed, using SPSS, to determine changes in rates of readmission. Descriptive statistics were used to represent and compare changes in rates. After implementation of the nurse practitioner home visit program, the 30-day readmission demonstrated an 81.07% reduction and the 30-day readmission for exacerbation of COPD, CHF, and DM II was reduced by 36.77%. The project findings contribute to social change by identifying how a reduction in the frequency of hospitalizations could contribute to decreased health care expenses and improved health outcomes. Home care and chronic health care organizations, as well as advanced-practice nurses working in home care settings, may use the results of the study to establish effective community interventions that reduce health care costs.

With more than 700,000 new diagnoses annually, congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic condition that affects the chambers of the heart. When not managed correctly, the disease rapidly progresses to substantial fluid volume overload that impacts activities of daily living and the overall quality of life. The financial implications for poor CHF management cost a mean annual medical expenditure of $33,427 per patient per year. The need for a diagnostic and prognostic at-home protocol is needed in the medical community, as there is currently no such tool on the market. Donabedian's framework was used to guide the formulation and interpretation of this research. The purpose of this project was to design a CHF protocol using evidence-based research for clinicians making home visits to homebound patients with a primary diagnosis of CHF with an individualized protocol focusing on disease management, in home support system, knowledge base and financial factors for homebound patients. The protocol was released through a snowballing campaign to clinicians who work with CHF, transitional care, or homecare who then evaluated the protocol on its perceived efficacy if integrated into practice. Findings were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics by 32 nurses and other health care professionals who responded work in home care, cardiology, medical surgical nursing hospitalists, or skilled nursing facilities. Thirty-one of the 32 respondents deemed the protocol useful and stated a clinical need of protocol as evidenced by completed the AGREE II Questionnaire. The findings demonstrate that the CHF Practice Protocol provides clinicians with an evidence-based guidance to manage homebound patients with CHF on a small scale.

Background: Among patients with multiple chronic conditions, care coordination and integration remains one of the major challenges facing the U.S. health care system. A home-based, patient-centered primary care program has been offered through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) since the 1970s for frail veterans who have difficulty accessing VHA clinics. The VHA Home Based Primary Care (VHA HBPC) aims to integrate primary care, rehabilitation, disease management, palliative care, and coordination of care for frail individuals with complex, chronic diseases within their homes. Early research suggested that VHA HBPC was associated with positive outcomes (e.g., reduced resource use and patient satisfaction). However, evidence regarding the effect of the VHA HBPC program on health services use (especially hospital and nursing home use), expenditures, and other patient outcomes remains limited. The present study is designed to fill this gap as the rise in the number of veterans with complex health care needs will likely increase in the coming decades. Objectives: The current study aimed to examine the impact of VHA HBPC on health services use, expenditures, and mortality among a cohort of new VHA HBPC enrollees identified in the national VHA data system. The specific aims of this study were: 1) to examine the effect of VHA HBPC on major health service use (hospital, nursing home, and outpatient care) paid for by the Veterans Administration; 2) to examine the effect of VHA HBPC on total health services expenditures; and 3) to examine whether VHA HBPC enrollees experienced similar mortality and survival as compared to a matched concurrent cohort. Methods: This study used a retrospective cohort design. A new VHA HBPC enrollee cohort (the treatment group) and a propensity matched comparison cohort (the comparison group) were identified from VHA claims in fiscal years (FY) 2009 and 2010 and were followed through FY 2012. Data on health service use, expenditures, and mortality/survival data were obtained via the VHA administrative datasets (i.e., Decision Support System, Purchased Care, and Vital Status Files). Propensity scores of being enrolled in the VHA HBPC were generated by a logistic regression model controlling for potential confounders. After 41,244 matched pairs were determined adequate through several diagnostic methods, means tests, relative risk analyses, and generalized linear models were used to estimate the effect of VHA HBPC on outcomes. Additionally, a Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate the effect of VHA HBPC on survival. Subgroup analyses were conducted stratifying by age (85 and older), comorbidities (2 or more), and the receipt of palliative care. Based on the results of the original analyses, a series of sensitivity analyses were conducted that modified the described sample selection criteria and matching algorithm. Results: Analyses of the original cohort revealed that VHA HBPC patients had significantly higher risks of being admitted into a hospital (RR 1.53, 95% CI 1.51-1.56) or nursing home (RR 1.65, CI 1.50 - 1.81). The average total expenditures during the study period were significantly higher for the VHA HBPC group as compared to the control group ($85,808 vs. $44,833, respectively; p < .001). In terms of mortality and survival, VHA HBPC enrollees had higher mortality (RR 1.45, CI 1.43 - 1.47), and shorter survival (HR 1.89, CI 1.86 - 1.93) as compared to those in the comparison group. Subgroup analyses found that these relationships generally remained when stratified by age 85 or older or having two or more comorbidities. However, for those who received palliative care, VHA HBPC participants had significantly lower risk of VHA hospitalization overall (RR 0.84, CI 0.81 - 0.87) and immediately prior to death. Finally, exploratory post-hoc analysis suggested that VHA HBPC recipients were at higher risk of VHA hospitalization at 30 (RR 1.11, CI 1.06 - 1.16), 60 (RR 1.16, CI 1.11 - 1.20), and 90 days (RR 1.16, 1.12 - 1.21) prior to death relative to the comparison group. After selecting only those that had a baseline hospitalization and refining the matching algorithm to account for time to death and additional comorbidities, VHA HBPC participants who had been enrolled in the program for at least six months had lower risks for hospital (RR 0.89, CI 0.88 - 0.90) and nursing home admissions (RR 0.74, CI 0.67 - 0.81). However, total expenditures remained significantly higher among those in VHA HBPC relative to the comparison group ($89,761 vs. $85,371, respectively; p < .001). Discussion: This study found that without accounting for important covariates such as initial hospitalization, time to death, and a range of comorbidities, VHA HBPC was associated with higher health service use, higher expenditures, higher mortality, and shorter survival as compared to a similar group of patients not receiving VHA HBPC. After accounting for these factors, VHA HBPC was associated with a lower risk of nursing home use, and after six months, VHA HBPC was associated with lower risk of both nursing home and hospital use. These findings suggest that while VHA HBPC may improve quality of life and patient satisfaction through patient-centered integrated primary care, it may not generate cost savings for the healthcare system. Future research is needed to understand variation in program implementation and how this affects the impact of VHA HBPC on service use and cost.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 30, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 194-206).

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi investigar as percepções dos cuidadores informais de pacientes de um serviço de assistência domiciliar sobre o cuidar e seu impacto, estudando aspectos positivos e negativos associados a este papel e a influência da assistência domiciliar para o seu desempenho. Participaram 50 cuidadores de pacientes inscritos no NADI Hospital das Clínicas da FMUSP, que responderam uma entrevista semi-dirigida e a Caregiver Burden Scale. Os cuidadores referem aspectos positivos dos cuidados, associados ao aprendizado e ao ganho narcísico, bem como aspectos negativos, como a perda de liberdade. Conclui-se que cuidar traz perdas e ganhos ao cuidador, relacionados ao seu envolvimento com a atividade e que as orientações da equipe são importantes para o sentimento de segurança do mesmo / The objective of this research was to investigate the perception of informal caregivers of patients attended by a home care program, about the care and its impact, studying positive and negative aspects associated with this role and the influence of home care and its development. Fifty caregivers of patients registered at NADI Hospital das Clínicas of FMUSP, participated in the study, answering the questions of a semi-structured interview and the Caregiver Burden Scale. Caregivers refer to positive aspects of caring related to learning and narcisistic gains, as well as to negative ones, such as the loss of freedom. It includes that caring brings losses and gains to the caregiver which are related to his involvment with the activity and that the staff´s orientation is very important for their feeling of security

INTRODUÇÃO Para a pessoa com deficiência nem sempre o restabelecimento funcional significa aquisição de habilidades para que se possa viver de maneira a exercer sua cidadania. Este estudo tem como objetivo compreender de que maneira a aquisição da deficiência física altera as relações de convivência estabelecidas pelas pessoas e busca apresentar a atenção domiciliar como proposta de cuidado que pode lidar com as necessidades advindas dessa alteração. PROCEDIMENTOS: Pesquisa qualitativa realizada a partir de histórias de vida de adultos. Realizou-se de 1 a 3 encontros dependendo da quantidade de informações disponibilizadas. Foram acompanhados 1 homem e 3 mulheres com deficiências físicas com idades entre 30 e 77 anos. A escolha da amostra procurou representar as pessoas com deficiência física cadastradas na Unidade Básica do Jardim Boa Vista e que não realizavam acompanhamento terapêutico ocupacional. Também foram considerados idade, deficiência e seqüelas. A análise dos dados foi baseada na teoria de rede social significativa de Sluzki. RESULTADOS E DISCUSSÃO: Através das narrativas constatou-se diminuição das relações de convivência percebidas nas redes sociais compostas pela família, amigos, relações de trabalho e de práticas sociais/comunitárias atribuídas principalmente à redução de oportunidades de circulação social. Constatou-se diminuição das atividades de lazer, de itinerários de circulação social e o surgimento de novos como a inserção em serviços de saúde e reabilitação. Devido à redução das relações de convivência e da dificuldade de equipamentos de saúde e familiares em se promover iniciativas de ativação da rede social, o terapeuta ocupacional pode utilizar a atenção domiciliar como estratégia de atuação, pois oferece meios para obter aproximação da realidade da pessoa com deficiência. Esta compreensão pode auxiliar na construção de propostas tanto para conhecer como para ativar a rede social de pessoas com deficiências físicas. CONCLUSÃO: A manutenção e ampliação das relações de convivência a partir do acompanhamento domiciliar em atenção comunitária de pessoas com deficiências físicas pode ser um caminho para ampliação da participação social. / INTRODUCTION: For the person with physical disabilities, the functional recovery does not always lead to the acquisition of skills that would provide them means to exercise their citizenship. This study aims to understand how physical disability changes the relations among people and tries to present home care as a type of health care that can address the needs resulting from this change. PROCEDURES: It was a qualitative research developed from analysis of the life stories of adults. There were 1 to 3 meetings with the subjects depending on the amount of information available. The subjects were 1 man and 3 women with physical disabilities aged between 30 and 77 years. The choice of this sample sought to represent the universe of people with physical disabilities who attend the Basic Health Care Unit of Jardim Boa Vista and who are not being treated by any occupational therapist. Other characteristics considered on the choice of the sample were age, type of disability and sequelae. Data analysis was based on the theory of significant social network of Sluzki. DISCUSSION: Through the narratives it was detected a decrease in the number of relations of coexistence in social networks composed by family or friends, work relations and social / community activities. This decrease was mainly attributed to the reduction of opportunities for social interaction.There was also a decrease in leisure activities and patterns of transportation, and the emergence of new patterns with the inclusion in health care and rehabilitation services. Due to the reduction of relations of coexistence and the difficulty of ordinary health care and family in promoting the reactivation of social networks, the occupational therapist may use home care as a strategy of action, as it offers the means to get closer to the reality of the person with disabilities. This can help on the elaboration of suggestions for knowing and reactivating the social networks of disabled persons. CONCLUSION: Home care of persons with disability with focus on maintaining and expanding the relations of coexistence can be a way to increase social participation.

INTRODUÇÃO Para a pessoa com deficiência nem sempre o restabelecimento funcional significa aquisição de habilidades para que se possa viver de maneira a exercer sua cidadania. Este estudo tem como objetivo compreender de que maneira a aquisição da deficiência física altera as relações de convivência estabelecidas pelas pessoas e busca apresentar a atenção domiciliar como proposta de cuidado que pode lidar com as necessidades advindas dessa alteração. PROCEDIMENTOS: Pesquisa qualitativa realizada a partir de histórias de vida de adultos. Realizou-se de 1 a 3 encontros dependendo da quantidade de informações disponibilizadas. Foram acompanhados 1 homem e 3 mulheres com deficiências físicas com idades entre 30 e 77 anos. A escolha da amostra procurou representar as pessoas com deficiência física cadastradas na Unidade Básica do Jardim Boa Vista e que não realizavam acompanhamento terapêutico ocupacional. Também foram considerados idade, deficiência e seqüelas. A análise dos dados foi baseada na teoria de rede social significativa de Sluzki. RESULTADOS E DISCUSSÃO: Através das narrativas constatou-se diminuição das relações de convivência percebidas nas redes sociais compostas pela família, amigos, relações de trabalho e de práticas sociais/comunitárias atribuídas principalmente à redução de oportunidades de circulação social. Constatou-se diminuição das atividades de lazer, de itinerários de circulação social e o surgimento de novos como a inserção em serviços de saúde e reabilitação. Devido à redução das relações de convivência e da dificuldade de equipamentos de saúde e familiares em se promover iniciativas de ativação da rede social, o terapeuta ocupacional pode utilizar a atenção domiciliar como estratégia de atuação, pois oferece meios para obter aproximação da realidade da pessoa com deficiência. Esta compreensão pode auxiliar na construção de propostas tanto para conhecer como para ativar a rede social de pessoas com deficiências físicas. CONCLUSÃO: A manutenção e ampliação das relações de convivência a partir do acompanhamento domiciliar em atenção comunitária de pessoas com deficiências físicas pode ser um caminho para ampliação da participação social. / INTRODUCTION: For the person with physical disabilities, the functional recovery does not always lead to the acquisition of skills that would provide them means to exercise their citizenship. This study aims to understand how physical disability changes the relations among people and tries to present home care as a type of health care that can address the needs resulting from this change. PROCEDURES: It was a qualitative research developed from analysis of the life stories of adults. There were 1 to 3 meetings with the subjects depending on the amount of information available. The subjects were 1 man and 3 women with physical disabilities aged between 30 and 77 years. The choice of this sample sought to represent the universe of people with physical disabilities who attend the Basic Health Care Unit of Jardim Boa Vista and who are not being treated by any occupational therapist. Other characteristics considered on the choice of the sample were age, type of disability and sequelae. Data analysis was based on the theory of significant social network of Sluzki. DISCUSSION: Through the narratives it was detected a decrease in the number of relations of coexistence in social networks composed by family or friends, work relations and social / community activities. This decrease was mainly attributed to the reduction of opportunities for social interaction.There was also a decrease in leisure activities and patterns of transportation, and the emergence of new patterns with the inclusion in health care and rehabilitation services. Due to the reduction of relations of coexistence and the difficulty of ordinary health care and family in promoting the reactivation of social networks, the occupational therapist may use home care as a strategy of action, as it offers the means to get closer to the reality of the person with disabilities. This can help on the elaboration of suggestions for knowing and reactivating the social networks of disabled persons. CONCLUSION: Home care of persons with disability with focus on maintaining and expanding the relations of coexistence can be a way to increase social participation.