Development of a novel benchmark method to identify and characterize best practices in home care across six European countries: design, baseline, and rationale of the IBenC project

BMC Health Services Research

Vjenka Garms-Homolová¹  Graziano Onder²  Stasja Draisma³  Harriet Finne-Soveri³  Lisanne I. van Lier⁴  Hein P. J. van Hout⁴  Henriëtte G. van der Roest⁴  Judith E. Bosmans⁵  Johannes H. Smit⁶  Pálmi V. Jónsson⁷  Liza van Eenoo⁸  Anja Declercq⁸ 

[1] 0000 0001 0198 6180, grid.410722.2, Department of Economics and Law, HTW Berlin, University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany;0000 0001 0941 3192, grid.8142.f, Department of Geriatrics, Neuroscience and Orthopedics, Agostino Gemelli University Hospital, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy;0000 0001 1013 0499, grid.14758.3f, Department of Wellbeing, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland;0000 0004 0435 165X, grid.16872.3a, Department of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam UMC, VU University medical center, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081, Amsterdam, BT, The Netherlands;0000 0004 0435 165X, grid.16872.3a, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;0000 0004 1754 9227, grid.12380.38, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands & GGZ inGeest Specialized Mental Health Care, Research and Innovation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Department of Geriatrics, Landspitali University Hospital, and Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland;LUCAS Centre for Care Research and Consultancy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;

关键词: Home care;    Health care policy;    Quality of care;    Costs of care utilization;    Elderly;    Benchmarking;    Cross-country comparison;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-019-4109-y

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundEurope’s ageing society leads to an increased demand for long-term care, thereby putting a strain on the sustainability of health care systems. The ‘Identifying best practices for care-dependent elderly by Benchmarking Costs and outcomes of Community Care’ (IBenC) project aims to develop a new benchmark methodology based on quality of care and cost of care utilization to identify best practices in home care. The study’s baseline data, methodology, and rationale are reported.MethodsHome care organizations in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, and the Netherlands, home care clients of 65 years and over receiving home care, and professionals working in these organizations were included. Client data were collected according to a prospective longitudinal design with the interRAI Home Care instrument. Assessments were performed at baseline, after six and 12 months by trained (research) nurses. Characteristics of home care organizations and professionals were collected cross-sectionally with online surveys.ResultsThirty-eight home care organizations, 2884 home care clients, and 1067 professionals were enrolled. Home care clients were mainly female (66.9%), on average 82.9 years (± 7.3). Extensive support in activities of daily living was needed for 41.6% of the sample, and 17.6% suffered cognitive decline. Care professionals were mainly female (93.4%), and over 45 years (52.8%). Considerable country differences were found.ConclusionA unique, international, comprehensive database is established, containing in-depth information on home care organizations, their clients and staff members. The variety of data enables the development of a novel cost-quality benchmark method, based on interRAI-HC data. This benchmark can be used to explore relevant links between organizational efficiency and organizational and staff characteristics.

【 授权许可】

CC BY