Collaborative relationship in preventive home visits to older people

Reinstating district nursing: A UK perspective

As policy directives gather pace for service provision to be delivered in primary care, district nursing has not been recognised as a valuable asset to facilitate this agenda. Investment in district nursing and specialist district nursing education has fallen. This is concurrent with an ageing district nursing workforce, a lack of recruitment and growing caseloads, as district nursing adapts to meet the challenges of the complexities of contemporary healthcare in the community. The district nurse role is complex and multifaceted and includes working collaboratively and creatively to coordinate care. Redressing the shortages of specialist district nurse practitioners with increased numbers of health care support workers will not replace the skill, knowledge, experience required to meet the complex care needs of today's society. District nursing needs to be reinstated as the valuable asset it is, through renewed investment in the service, research development and in specialist practice education. To prevent extinction district nurses need to be able to demonstrate and articulate the complexities and dynamisms of the role to reinstate themselves to their commissioners as a valuable asset for contemporary practice that can meet current health and social care needs effectively.

The Importance of Trust in Successful Home Visit Programs for Older People

Outcomes of proactive home visit programs for frail, older people might be influenced by aspects of the caregiver-receiver interaction. We conducted a naturalistic case study to explore the interactional process between a nurse and an older woman during two home visits. Using an ethics of care, we posit that a trusting relationship is pivotal for older people to accept care that is proactively offered to them. Trust can be build when nurses meet the relational needs of older people. Nurses can achieve insight in these needs by exploring older people's value systems and life stories. We argue that a strong focus on older people's relational needs might contribute to success of proactive home visits for frail, older people.

Izkušnje medicinskih sester v patronažnem varstvu z obiski na domu v okviru projekta Nadgrajena celovita obravnava pacienta: rezultati pilotne raziskave

Uvod: Patronažno zdravstveno varstvo je pomemben člen pri odkrivanju, spremljanju in obravnavi kroničnih bolezni na primarni ravni. Namen raziskave je bil predstaviti izkušnje in stališča do nadgrajene preventivne obravnave ter obiskov na domu. Metode: Uporabljen je bil mešani raziskovalni dizajn. Podatki so bili zbrani z delno strukturiranim vprašalnikom (Cronbach α = 0,92). Sodelovalo je 50 diplomiranih medicinskih sester, odzivnost je bila 81-% (n = 41). Opravljena je bila tematska analiza odprtih vprašanj. Za kvantitativne podatke je bila uporabljena opisna statistika, t-test, analiza variance in korelacijska analiza. Rezultati: Prispevek preventivnih obiskov na domu anketiranci vidijo v zdravstvenovzgojnem delovanju (x = 4,34, s = 0,85), odkrivanju rizičnih dejavnikov (x = 4,12, s = 0,81) in ohranjanju kakovosti življenja pacientov ( x= 4,10, s = 0,92). Zadovoljstvo anketirancev je povezano s sprejemanjem obiskov s strani pacientov in družin (r = 0,754, p < 0,001), s prispevkom k stroki patronažnega varstva (r = 0,766, p < 0,001) ter z obravnavo posameznika z družino (r = 0,693, p < 0,001). V tematski analizi sta bili identificirani dve temi, in sicer (1) pozitivne izkušnje z obiski in (2) negativne izkušnje z obiski. Diskusija in zaključek: Novo obliko preventivnih patronažnih obiskov v domačem okolju anketirani podpirajo, še posebej možnost celovite obravnave posameznika in njegove družine. Glede na ugotovitve se predlaga, da medicinska sestra v patronažnem varstvu postane enakovreden partner v timu referenčne ambulante na nacionalnem nivoju.

Expanding access to pain care for frail, older people in primary care: a cross-sectional study

Background

Although untreated pain has a negative impact on quality of life and health outcomes, research has shown that older people do not always have access to adequate pain care. Practice nurse-led, comprehensive geriatric assessments (CGAs) may increase access to tailored pain care for frail, older people who live at home. To explore this, we investigated whether new pain cases were identified by practice nurses during CGAs administered as part of an intervention with the Geriatric Care Model, a comprehensive care model based on the Chronic Care Model, and whether the intervention led to tailored pain action plans in care plans of frail, older people.

Methods

We used cross-sectional data from the older Adults: Care in Transition (ACT) study, a 2-year clinical trial carried out in two regions of the Netherlands. Practice nurses proactively visited older people at home and administered an in-home CGA that included an assessment of pain. Pain care-related agreements and actions (pain action plans) based on CGA results were described in a tailored care plan. We analyzed care plans of 781 older people who received a first-time CGA by a practice nurse for the presence of pain, pain location and cause, new pain cases, and pain action plans. We used descriptive statistics to analyze our data.

Results

We found that 315 (40.3 %) older people experienced any type of pain. Practice nurses identified 20 (10.6 %) new pain cases, and 188 (59.7 %) older people with pain formulated at least one therapeutic or non-therapeutic pain action plan together with a practice nurse. More than half of the older people whose pain had already been identified by a primary care physician wanted a pain action plan. Most pain action plans consisted of actions or agreements related to continuity of care.

Discussion and conclusion

Practice nurses in primary care can contribute to expanding older people's access to tailored pain care. Future researchers should continue to direct their focus at ways to overcome the barriers that restrict older people’s access to pain care.

District nurses' experiences of preventive home visits to 75-year-olds in Stockholm: a qualitative study

Aims This study had two aims: to describe the dialogue between district nurses (DNs) and older people in preventive home visits (PHVs) from the perspective of the DNs, and to identify barriers to and facilitators of this dialogue as perceived by the DNs.

BACKGROUND

The number of older people is rapidly increasing in all western countries, and as people's age increases, the probability that they will have multiple diseases also increases. Planned actions are therefore needed to promote health and prevent diseases among older people so they can remain in good health and live in their homes for as long as possible. In Sweden, PHVs to 75-year-olds by DNs are one such action.

METHODS

This qualitative study included five group interviews with 20 DNs. Data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Findings DNs' experiences of barriers to and facilitators of a successful health dialogue were sorted into five domains. Together, these domains provided a systematic description of the interaction between the DN and the older person in the PHV. The domains included: establishing trustful contact, conducting a structured interview, making an overall assessment, proposing health-promoting activities and offering follow-up. The barriers and facilitators could be related to the older person, the DN or the home environment. The latent content of the interviews was evident in three themes that were related to the DNs' experiences of barriers and facilitators. These themes illustrated professional dilemmas that the DNs had to resolve to achieve the purpose of the PHV. The study demonstrates that the interaction between a DN and an older person in a PHV can be described as a complex social process in which the DN balances a personal and professional approach, combines a person-oriented and a task-oriented approach and employs both a salutogenic and pathogenic perspective.

Home health care nurse interactions with homebound geriatric patients with depression and disability

Building therapeutic nurse-patient relationships is pivotal to the provision of optimum nurse care management for geriatric home health care (HHC) patients. However, little is known about which strategies most effectively treat older adult HHC patients with concomitant depression and disability. This qualitative descriptive study was conducted in two parts to explore the issue further. The first part involved interviews regarding HHC nurse perceptions of geriatric depression and disability care management. The second part, which is the focus of the current analysis, describes HHC nurses' use of care management and therapeutic during home visits. Observation of nurse-patient interactions involved 25 nurses home visits to HHC patients 60 and older who had depression and disability. Drawing on clinical knowledge and interpersonal skills, nurses built relationships and fostered trust. However, despite their disabilities to make these connections, multiple missed opportunities occurred for nurses to engage in more productive interactions. Four training components to support improvement of nurse-patient therapeutic relationships are described and recommended.

How do older persons understand the purpose and relevance of preventive home visits? A study of experiences after a first visit

The aim of this study was to explore and describe older persons' experiences of their first Preventive Home Visit. Preventive Home Visits (PHV) are health services that aim to promote older persons' health, prevent functional decline, and reduce the need for comprehensive healthcare. The knowledge base to guide the design of effective PHV interventions is scarce. Studies that explore older persons' experiences of the first visit are essential, as compliance with the service is a prerequisite for positive outcomes. An explorative and descriptive design was applied. Qualitative research interviews with ten older persons who had received the first PHV the previous year were analysed with regard to manifest and latent content. The findings revealed that the understanding of the purpose of PHV varied. For some participants, the concepts and aims of health promotion and disease prevention were difficult to comprehend. The possibility to prepare for the visit was sought. All participants appreciated the service; the dialogue quality was good and a trusted municipal contact person provided security. To enhance compliance and ensure effective PHV, the invitation to the PHV service should include clearly stated aims and specific information about the first visit. An individualised, person-centred approach should be applied.

Assessing the quality and effectiveness of an updated preventive home visit programme for ambulatory frail older Japanese people: research protocol for a randomized controlled trial

AIM

To describe the programme and research protocol of our updated preventive home visit programme for ambulatory frail older adults in the Japanese Long-Term Care Insurance system.

BACKGROUND

Our previous trials have shown that the nature of recommendations during preventive home visits is a key issue. The present programme has updated our previous one by including a unique structured assessment with treatment recommendations tied to an ongoing programme for quality assurance.

DESIGN

A randomized, controlled trial.

METHODS

Eligible participants (n = 360) will be randomly assigned to home visit (n = 179) and control (n = 181) groups in three suburban municipalities. Nurses provide recommendations based on structured assessments to participants in visit group every 3 months from September 2011-October 2013. The primary outcomes are parameters related to quality of life, including activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, depression, cognitive capacity, daily-life satisfaction and self-efficacy for health promotion; these are collected by mail at baseline, 12 and 24 months. The secondary outcome is long-term care use over the study period. To evaluate the visit process, we are qualitatively analysing documentation data from the assessment sheet and chart.

CONCLUSION

This study is collecting and analysing evidence regarding the process and outcomes of preventive home visits based on structured care-need assessments.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The study protocol was registered for the UMIN clinical registry approved by ICMJE (No. UMIN000006463, October 04, 2011).

Preventive home visits and health--experiences among very old people

Background

As more people reach older age, there is a growing interest in improving old person’s health, activity, independence and social participation, thereby adding quality to the extended years. Preventive home visits (PHV) programs for old people have received much attention in recent decades. A large body of research shows mixed effects, and argues that a home visit is a complex social process influenced by numerous factors. To evaluate the impact of PHV, as well as making decisions on whether, how, and to whom the service should be provided, requires a deeper understanding of PHV than we have now. Consequently, the aim of the study was to describe the variations in older people’s (80+) experiences of a single preventive home visit and its consequences for health.

Methods

Seventeen participants between 80 and 92 years of age who had all received a structured PHV were interviewed in their own homes. The interviews were analyzed using the phenomenographic method, looking at the variations in the participants’ experiences.

Results

The interviews revealed four categories: “The PHV made me visible and proved my human value”; “The PHV brought a feeling of security”; “The PHV gave an incentive to action”; and “The PHV was not for me”.

Conclusions

The experiences of a PHV were twofold. On one hand, the positive experiences indicate that one structured PHV was able to empower the participants and strengthen their self-esteem, making them feel in control over their situation and more aware of the importance of keeping several steps ahead. Together this could motivate them to take measures and engage in health-promoting activities. On the other hand, the PHV was experienced as being of no value by a few. These findings may partly explain the positive results from PHV interventions and emphasize that one challenge for health care professionals is to motivate older people who are healthy and independent to engage in health-promoting and disease-preventive activities.

Barriers and facilitators to optimize function and prevent disability worsening: a content analysis of a nurse home visit intervention

AIMS

This paper is a report of an analysis of how to better understand the results of the nurse home visit intervention in the Medicare Primary and Consumer-Directed Care Demonstration in terms of facilitators and barriers to disability improvement/maintenance as compared with disability worsening.

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of literature describing how nurse home visit interventions are able to maintain/improve disability among older persons with disability. The present study is one of only six reporting beneficial disability outcomes.

METHODS

Cases were purposefully sampled to represent change in the disability construct leading to selection of ten cases each of disability maintenance/improvement (no change or decrease in total Activities of Daily Living score from baseline) and worsening (an increase in total Activities of Daily Living score from baseline). Data from nurses' progress notes and case studies (collected in March 1998-June 2002) were analysed using qualitative descriptive analysis (May 2009). These results remain relevant because the present study is one of the few studies to identify select nurse activities instrumental in postponing/minimizing disability worsening.

RESULTS/FINDINGS

Three primary themes captured the facilitators and barriers to effective disability maintenance/improvement: (1) building and maintaining patient-centred working relationships, (2) negotiating delivery of intervention components and (3) establishing balance between patients' acute and chronic care needs. Sub-themes illustrate nurse, patient and system factors associated with effective disability maintenance/improvement (e.g. nurse caring, communicating, facilitating interdisciplinary communication) and barriers associated with disability worsening (e.g. dementia, depression and recurring acute illnesses).

CONCLUSION

This study provides new insights about the facilitators and barriers to effective disability maintenance/improvement experienced by patients receiving home visits. Potential opportunities exist to integrate these insights into best-practice models of nurse home visiting.