Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected healthcare delivery across the world. However, little is known about COVID-19’s impact on home healthcare (HHC) services. Our study aimed to: (1) describe the changes in volume and intensity of HHC services and the crisis management policies implemented; (2) understand the responses and the experiences of HHC staff and clients. We conducted an explanatory sequential mixed methods study. First, retrospective client data (N = 43,495) from four Dutch HHC organizations was analyzed. Second, four focus group interviews were conducted for the strategic, tactical, operational, and client levels of the four HHC organizations. Our results showed that both the supply of and demand for Dutch HHC decreased considerably, especially during the first wave (March–June 2020). This was due to factors such as fear of infection, anticipation of a high demand for COVID-19-related care from the hospital sector, and lack of personal protective equipment. The top-down management style initially applied made way for a more bottom-up approach in the second wave (July 2020–January 2021). Experiences vary between levels and waves. HHC organizations need more responsive protocols to prevent such radical scaling-back of HHC in future crises, and interventions to help HHC professionals cope with crisis situations.
Highlights
Introduction iationsThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to radical changes in healthcare delivery across the world since its onset in the beginning of 2020 [1]
HHC organizations responded to the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020–January 2021), in terms of changes in the volume and intensity of HHC services, and the crisis management policies implemented
The first part of the results section will focus on describing to what extent the volumes and intensity of HHC changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was identified from the quantitative data
Summary
Introduction iationsThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to radical changes in healthcare delivery across the world since its onset in the beginning of 2020 [1]. Uncertainty about the course and consequences of the disease, the risks of transmission, uncertainty about the effectiveness of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the lack of PPE for healthcare professionals all resulted in drops in the volumes of regular, non-COVID-19-related care provided [2]. This has affected hospital settings, and the home healthcare (HHC) sector. In the Netherlands, HHC can be defined as ‘formal nursing services and personal care provided by HHC professionals in clients’ own homes’ [3]. Different types of care can be delivered to various types of patients, such
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