home care
{{Short description|Health care and/or supportive care provided in a patient's home}}
Homecare (home care, in-home care, care at home), also known as domiciliary care, personal care or social care, is health care or supportive care provided in the individual home where the patient or client is living, generally focusing on paramedical aid by professional caregivers, assistance in daily living for ill, disabled or elderly people, or a combination thereof. Depending on legislation, a wide range of other services can also be included in homecare.{{cite web |title=Home Care Services |url=https://medlineplus.gov/homecareservices.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |website=medlineplus.gov}}{{Cite journal |last1=Bolton |first1=Sharon C. |last2=Wibberley |first2=Gemma |date=2013-10-31 |title=Domiciliary Care: The Formal and Informal Labour Process |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038038513500098 |journal=Sociology |language=en |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=682–697 |doi=10.1177/0038038513500098 |s2cid=155037992}}{{cite web |title=In-Home Care Services for Seniors |url=https://seniorsite.org/resource/best-in-home-care-services-for-seniors |access-date=12 October 2017 |website=Seniors |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-10-31 |title=Personal and nursing care |url=https://careinfoscotland.scot/topics/social-care-support-from-home/personal-and-nursing-care/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=Care Information Scotland – The Scottish Government |language=en}}
Homecare can be organised by national or local government, by volunteer organizations or on a market basis.
Purpose
Homecare is an alternative to institutional care such as can be provided at group accommodations and nursing home. Research shows that clients receiving home health care may incur lower costs, receive equal to better care, and have increased satisfaction in contrast to other settings.{{Cite journal|last1=Landers|first1=Steven|last2=Madigan|first2=Elizabeth|last3=Leff|first3=Bruce|last4=Rosati|first4=Robert J.|last5=McCann|first5=Barbara A.|last6=Hornbake|first6=Rodney|last7=MacMillan|first7=Richard|last8=Jones|first8=Kate|last9=Bowles|first9=Kathryn|last10=Dowding|first10=Dawn|last11=Lee|first11=Teresa|date=2016-10-05|title=The Future of Home Health Care|journal=Home Health Care Management & Practice|language=en-US|volume=28|issue=4|pages=262–278|doi=10.1177/1084822316666368|issn=1084-8223|pmc=5052697|pmid=27746670}}
Services included
The services included vary vastly between jurisdictions, volunteer organizations and markets. Some examples of homecare services are:
- assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, toileting, food preparation, feeding, incontinence laundry, bed changing,{{Cite web |date=2020-06-03 |title=Home Healthcare Nurse Careers and Salary Outlook {{!}} 2020 NurseJournal.org |url=https://nursejournal.org/home-healthcare-nursing/home-healthcare-nurse-careers-salary-outlook/ |access-date=2020-07-17 |website=NurseJournal |language=en-US}}
- paramedical aid and qualified nursing care, such as injections, management of pressure sores, catheter and stoma care, carrying out physician orders, tracking vital signs, drawing blood, and documentation of health status,
- palliative and end-of-life care,
- communication between patient, family and physician,
- mobility support, including short walks, conveyance to and from health institutions, or adapted public transportation services,{{Cite web |title=Färdtjänsten (Mobility Service) |url=https://fardtjansten.regionstockholm.se/sv/info/fardtjanstresor/andra-sprak/fardtjanst-engelska/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=fardtjansten.regionstockholm.se |publisher=Stockholm Region, Sweden |language=en}}
- counselling, including behaviour management, psychological support and reminding devices, and
- providing or managing mechanical and manual aids.{{Cite web |title=Hjälpmedel - Habilitering och hjälpmedel |url=https://vard.skane.se/habilitering-och-hjalpmedel/hjalpmedel/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=vard.skane.se |publisher=Region Skåne, Sweden |language=sv}}
Caregivers
See also
References
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