Evaluating the introduction of positive health on the amount of received home care among older patients: A pre-post study

Abstract

BackgroundThe increasing demand for home care services can be attributed to demographic shifts. Positive Health can be defined as the capacity to adapt and promote self-reliance in social, physical, and emotional challenges. PurposeThis study aimed to explore the influence of introducing Positive Health on the amount of home care nursing for older patients, measured in minutes per week over a six-week period. MethodA pretest-posttest study involving 176 randomly selected patients in each group. Data was extracted from the Electronic Health Record of a large home care organization in the Netherlands. FindingsPost-introduction of Positive Health, the median weekly home care amount significantly decreased (176.25 minutes, IQR=111.7–287.9) compared to pre-introduction (180.67 minutes, IQR=83.8–248.7, p=0.005). Significant differences in nursing diagnoses per patient group were observed (p<0.001). DiscussionFurther research is needed to observe the long-term impact of working with Positive Health concept on patient outcomes in home care setting.