The present article reports the results of a study comparing home care for the elderly with proactive nursing health promotion. The rationale of the study can be seen through the fact that there are trends shifting towards the delivery of healthcare services for the elderly on demand. Such shift is most apparent for older people with chronic health needs, and as a result, creates a fragmented system of healthcare delivery. Such a system is “less effective and more costly than providing comprehensive care… [in which] delays or errors can contribute to more complications, cause functional decline and negative changes in quality of life” (Markle-Reid et al., 2006, p. 382).
Thus, the study was based theoretically on the model of vulnerability for the evaluation of proactive nursing promotion and intervention. Such model, in addition to the indicators of vulnerability and costs, included health the h services index. The results showed that despite the absence of significant differences in costs, there were significant differences in mental health and perceived social support. Thus, the study indicates that there are benefits for health care agencies functioning in health promotion and prevention mode. In such a way, the article concludes that proactive health care enhances the quality of life, mental health, and social support, as compared to offering health care to the elderly on demand. The latter implies that agencies providing health care services should reconsider their system of delivery.
References
Markle-Reid, M., Weir, R., G., B., Roberts, J., Gafni, A., & Henderson, S. (2006). Health promotion for frail older home care clients. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 54(3), 381-395.