Home care

Home care, (commonly referred to as domiciliary care), is health care or supportive care provided in the patient's home by healthcare professionals (often referred to as home health care or formal care; in the United States, it is known as skilled care) or by family and friends (also known as caregivers, primary caregiver, or voluntary caregivers who give informal care). Often, the term home care is used to distinguish non-medical care or custodial care, which is care that is provided by persons who are not nurses, doctors, or other licensed medical personnel, whereas the term home health care, refers to care that is provided by licensed personnel

Concept

(The following definition is applicable in United States and United Kingdom.)

"Home care" and "home health care" are phrases that are used interchangeably in the United States to mean any type of care given to a person in their own home. Both phrases have been used in the past interchangeably regardless of whether the person requires skilled care or not. More recently, there is a growing movement to distinguish between "home health care" meaning skilled nursing care and "home care" meaning non-medical care. In the [United Kingdom], "Homecare" and "domiciliary care" are the preferred expressions.

Home care aims to make it possible for people to remain at home rather than use residential, long-term, or institutional-based nursing care. Home Care providers render services in the client's own home. These services may include some combination of professional health care services and life assistance services.

Professional Home Health services could include medical or psychological assessment, wound care, medication teaching, pain management, disease education and management, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy.

Life assistance services include help with daily tasks such as Meal Preparation, Medication reminders, Laundry, Light Housekeeping, Errands, Shopping, Transportation, and Companionship.

In the United Kingdom

Home care providers

Homecare is purchased by the service user directly from independent home care agencies or as part of the statutory responsibility of social services departments of local authorities who either provide care by their own employees or commission services from independent agencies. Care is usually provided once or twice a day with the aim of keeping frail or disabled people healthy and independent though can extend to full-time help by a live-in nurse or carer.

United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA)

Domiciliary care providers in the UK are able to join the United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA), which is the professional association of domiciliary care providers in the independent, voluntary and statutory sectors. The Association represents the views of over 1,600 home care providers, each of which agrees to abide by the UKHCA Code of Practice.

UKHCA is often a point of contact for members of the public who wish to contact agencies in their local area using a searchable list of home care providers in the UK. Their leaflet "Choosing care in your Home" is a straight-forward explanation of what home care is and how members of the public can select the best provider for their needs.

UKHCA produces Homecarer magazine, a bi-monthly digest of the latest news and analysis of the domiciliary care sector, and a range of publications for homecare providers, many of which are available to the public.

Statutory Regulation

Home care agencies are regulated by statutory bodies in three of the four home nations. The regulator's function is to ensure that home care agencies work within the applicable legislation:

England

Wales

Scotland

The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001

Northern Ireland

Legislation covering the homecare sector in Northern Ireland is not yet fully operational (as at December 2007).

Regulator: The Registration and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)

The Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation)(Northern Ireland) Order 2003

Domiciliary Care Agency Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

Domiciliary Care Agencies National Minimum Standards (not published as at December 2007)

Research and program accreditation

Lotus Shyu & Lee found that by comparing with nursing home services, home nursing is more suitable for the patients who are not seriously ill and who do not need the services of after-hospital discharging ^[1]. Modin and Furhoff regard the roles of patient's doctors are more crucial than their nurses and care workers ^[2]. However from epidemiological view, the risks of some community acquired infections are more higher from home nursing than from nursing home ^[3]. In regards to financial expenditure, the home nursing is more cost effective than nursing home ^[4]. The quality aspect of home nursing has been reviewed by Riccio ^[5].

Homecare