Medicaid may be an important key to linking older individuals in rural areas with formal home health care

2005 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Home Health Care ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Home Health ◽  
Older Individuals

scholarly journals Recent planning approaches and mobility concepts for home health care services in Austria – A review

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 205-222
Author(s):  
Patrick Hirsch
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Home Health Care ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Home Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
Routing And Scheduling ◽  
Sustainable Solutions

Summary Home health care (HHC) services are faced with a rising demand in Austria. This is due to an increased life expectancy, changing family structures, and the trend to grow old at home. The percentage of their working time that is spent by the HHC staff for travelling from one client to the next one reaches 30% and even more in some rural areas. Changing the assignment of HHC staff to clients and the sequence of visits can lead to major reductions in the travel distances, and therefore, to more sustainable solutions. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview on the logistical planning of HHC services in Austria. In order to meet the future requirements, it is important to analyze different mobility concepts for the HHC staff and to provide tailored solution approaches for routing and scheduling. The reader learns about the current HHC situation in Austria, the logistical requirements for planning these services, possible mobility concepts for the HHC staff, and potential threats for HHC operations. The developed solution methods are presented in brief and the main findings are highlighted and discussed. The paper concludes with an outlook on potential future research paths in HHC routing and scheduling.

scholarly journals From village health volunteers to paid care givers: the optimal mix for a multidisciplinary home health care workforce in rural Thailand

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nonglak Pagaiya ◽  
Thinakorn Noree ◽  
Penapa Hongthong ◽  
Karnwarin Gongkulawat ◽  
Pagaluk Padungson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Home Health Care ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Home Visits ◽  
Home Health ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
Rural Thailand

Abstract Background Thailand is a rapidly aging society, which places high demand on home health care services for the elderly. The shortage of health care workforce in rural areas is a crucial obstacle to the delivery of adequate home health care services. The appropriate skill-mix between multidisciplinary health team and care givers (CGs) is an attractive solution for improving home health care services in rural Thailand. This study assessed the potential of trained CGs to provide home health care services and projected what the optimal mix for a multidisciplinary home health care team in rural Thailand would be in 2030. Methods Eleven pilot districts in Thailand were recruited for the study. Secondary data were collected along with surveys of home health care providers. A total of 130 care managers (nurses) and 351 care givers (CG) were recruited for the survey. Workload, skill-mix potential, and acceptance of care givers were assessed in the surveys. The results from secondary data and the survey were used to project the health workforce requirements in 2030. Results It is projected that in 2030 the number of elderly living in rural areas will be 7,156,700 (27% of the projected rural population). Of this, 20.3% will be home-bound, 1.1% will be bed-ridden and 1.6% will need rehabilitation. The main members of the multidisciplinary health workforce involved in home health care were nurses, doctors, and physiotherapists. The home health care services that were provided by the multidisciplinary health workforce included patient assessment, development of a care plan and case conference, home visits, and teaching and supervision of CGs. The CGs were village health volunteers trained to carry out regular home visits to patients. The CGs provided assistance with the activities of daily living, basic health services, moral support to patients and relatives, and surveillance of the home environment during home visits. CGs were well accepted by both the health professionals and the patients. Projections showed that 16,094 nurses, 1,542 doctors, 1,022 physiotherapists and 50,148 CGs will be required in 2030 to meet the needs of the dependent elderly for home health care in rural Thailand. Conclusion With the increased need for home health care services in the future, appropriate team work between the members of the multidisciplinary health team and the CGs in the community is the appropriate solution for likely shortages of health professional workforce.

Quality of Life of Older People Receiving Home Health Care Services: An Example From Turkey

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
Emin Rencber ◽  
Ozlem Terzi
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Older People ◽  
Home Health Care ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Home Health ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Care Services

Advanced age, restrictions on daily life activities, increased disability, and chronic diseases negatively affect the quality of life of older individuals. The aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of life of older patients receiving home health care services (HHCS) in Samsun province, Turkey. The population of this cross-sectional study comprised 489 individuals aged 65 years and older. Patient selection was performed using the stratified randomized sampling method. A total of 183 patients were included in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire and face-to-face interviews. The Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used in the statistical evaluation of data, and significance was regarded as p < .05 for all tests. Some 75.4% of the patients were women, and the average age was 82 years. Eighty-three percent of the participants were semi-dependent or completely dependent in the activities of daily living (ADL); however, in the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), 96.0% were semi-dependent or completely dependent. The quality of life of the older people receiving HHCS was identified as low both in the physical and mental health components. However, physical quality of life was statistically higher in men, in graduates of primary school or above, and in patients with no decubitus ulcers compared with the others. We found that the older individuals receiving HHCS had a lower quality of life due to their chronic diseases and high dependency compared with the general population and their contemporaries.

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