Abstract
BackgroundIn an era of an increasingly ageing society, part of healthcare for older adults can be provided in patients’ homes, and the need for home health care services (HHCSs) is increasing. This study sought to determine whether a gap exists between the views of community health professionals and the caregivers of disabled older adults towards HHCSs in Beijing, China.MethodsA cross-sectional study with two comparative questionnaire surveys was conducted in Beijing, China. One survey was administered to the caregivers of disabled older adults, and the other was administered to health professionals in community health service institutions (CHSIs). T-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to explore potential differences between the views of caregivers and community health professionals towards HHCSs.ResultsWe received 370 valid questionnaires from caregivers and 224 questionnaires from health professionals. Of the 370 caregivers, 314 (84.9%) were willing to apply for HHCSs for the older adults, but only 20.5% (N = 76) received HHCSs. Over 80% of the caregivers accepted out-of-pocket costs less than 100 yuan per visit. Caregivers’ demands on home nursing services were significantly higher than those of health guidance services (Z = − 7.725, P < 0.001). Most of the 224 health professionals chose “health professionals’ personal safety cannot be guaranteed” as a problem limiting the provision of HHCSs (N = 151, 40.8%). The health professionals’ attitudes towards home nursing services were significantly less positive than those towards health guidance services (Z = − 10.081, P < 0.001). For home nursing services, health professionals’ attitude scores were lower than the caregivers’ demand scores (Z = − 4.960, P < 0.001), while for health guidance services, health professionals’ attitude scores were higher than the caregivers’ demand scores (Z = − 8.373, P < 0.001).ConclusionsGaps exist between the views of caregivers and health professionals on HHCSs. Compared to health professionals with a higher willingness to provide health guidance services, caregivers need home nursing services. Feasible policies should be implemented to safeguard the rights and interests of health professionals, and qualified health professionals should be trained for HHCSs.
Highlights
In an era of an increasingly ageing society, part of healthcare for older adults can be provided in patients’ homes, and the need for home health care services (HHCSs) is increasing
Gaps exist between the views of caregivers and health professionals on HHCSs
Our work mainly focused on determining the differences between the views of caregivers and health professionals towards HHCSs, but caregivers’ characteristics, such as age and health status, may affect their willingness to receive HHCSs, and many factors can influence health professionals’ attitudes towards HHCSs as well
Summary
In an era of an increasingly ageing society, part of healthcare for older adults can be provided in patients’ homes, and the need for home health care services (HHCSs) is increasing. This study sought to determine whether a gap exists between the views of community health professionals and the caregivers of disabled older adults towards HHCSs in Beijing, China. The older adult population with disease-related disabilities exceeds 40 million [3]. Disease-related disability, especially physical disability and cognitive impairment, leads to dependency in activities of daily living (ADL), and the need for long-term care (LTC) is one of the consequences of disability and ADL dependency [4, 5]. LTC services are mainly provided by institutions (such as nursing homes and care centres) and families. Confucian teachings emphasize filial piety and intergenerational responsibility, and this Chinese culture places family members as the primary care providers for older people [8]
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