The Significance and Impact of the Home Care of an Older Adult

Abstract

Home care for older adults who desire to remain independent in their homes has been demonstrated as being less costly and more beneficial than institutional care. At the time of this article, third-party reimbursement has not yet been obtained for the delivery of the care described. The ideal model for a comprehensive, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week program has been presented. This model includes preventive, supportive, and therapeutic services at three levels of care and encompasses ongoing assessment, planning, and intervention. However, before such a model can be implemented, the policy-makers must be encouraged, through the use of public and health professional pressures, to provide funding for such a program. Providers and consumers working in consort can implement model programs for evaluation. The impact of a comprehensive home care program can then be evaluated by a planned evaluation protocol showing older adults reaching self-actualization through prolonged independence with the results of optimal health, freedom from fear of unnecessary institutionalization, and a greater sense of well-being at an ultimately lower cost to society and themselves. Such values, though, can be measured only partially by cost accounting.