Contributing factors involved in the safety of elderly people with chronic illness in home healthcare: a qualitative study

Home Healthcare Medication Safety risks among older adults with chronic diseases: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Older adults receiving home care often face significant safety risks related to medication management due to their chronic diseases and complex health needs. Despite the increasing reliance on home healthcare services, the specific factors contributing to medication safety risks in this demographic remain inadequately explored.

OBJECTIVE/AIM

This study aims to explore the key factors involved in medication safety risks among older adults with chronic diseases receiving home healthcare in Iran.

METHODS

Qualitative research employing conventional content analysis was conducted using Graneheim and Lundman's approach. was conducted in three home care centers in Tehran (Iran) from August 2020 to July 2022. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 7 nurses, 2 supervisors, 2 nursing assistants (experts in non-nursing careers), 1 home care inspector (expert of the Deputy of Treatment), and 3 family caregivers in home settings, along with four participatory observations and visual methods (narrative photography) focusing on medication safety challenges. The trustworthiness of the research was evaluated using Lincoln and Guba's four criteria for qualitative studies.

FINDINGS

Factors associated with medication safety risks were found to rely on its major components Patients' attribution, Families' characteristics, Home care centers' condition, Health caregivers' characteristics, and the Homes' situations, where these factors all account for various medication safety risks. Indeed, a medication safety risk can be attributed to more than one of the factors associated with medication safety risk by participants at home.

CONCLUSION

As a result, the analysis of factors associated with medication safety risks highlights a complex interplay among various elements, including patients, families, home care centers, health caregivers, and the home environment. These interconnected factors are crucial for identifying the diverse medication safety challenges faced by participants in home settings. A comprehensive understanding of these dynamics is essential for improving medication safety protocols and enhancing health outcomes for this vulnerable population.

Electronic medication administration record (eMAR) in Swedish home healthcare-Implications for Nurses' and nurse Assistants' Work environment: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

The electronic medication administration record (eMAR) is an eHealth system that has replaced the traditional paper-based medication administration used in many healthcare settings. Research has highlighted that eHealth technologies can change working methods and professional roles in both expected and unexpected ways. To date, there is sparse research that has explored how nurses and nurse assistants (NA) in home healthcare experience eMAR in relation to their work environment.

AIM

The aim was to explore how nurses and nurse assistants experienced their work environment, in terms of job-demand, control, and support in a Swedish home healthcare setting where an electronic medication administration record had been implemented to facilitate delegation of medical administration.

METHOD

We took a qualitative approach, where focus groups were used as data collection method. The focus groups included 16 nurses and nine NAs employed in a Swedish municipality where an eMAR had been implemented 6 months before the first focus groups were performed. The analysis adapted the job-demand-control-support model, by condensing the professionals' experiences into the three categories of demand, control, and support, in alignment with the model.

RESULTS

NAs experienced high levels of job demand and low levels of job control. The use of the eMAR limited NAs' ability to control their work, in terms of priorities, content, and timing. In contrast, the nurses described demands as high but manageable, and described having a high level of control. Both professions found the eMar supportive.

CONCLUSION

Nurses and NAs in home healthcare experienced changes in their work environment regarding demand, control, and support when an eMAR was implemented to facilitate delegation of medical administration. In general, nurses were satisfied with the eMAR. However, NAs felt that the eMAR did not cover all aspects of their daily work. Healthcare organisations should be aware of the changes that digitalisation processes entail in the work environment of nurses and NAs in home healthcare.