The Effects of Home Care Provider Mix on the Care Recipient: An International, Systematic Review of Articles from 2000 to 2020

Abstract

In this systematic review, we examine the literature from 2000 to 2020 to ascertain whether we can make strong conclusions about the relative benefit of adding informal care or formal care providers to the care mix among individuals receiving care in the home, specifically focusing on care recipient outcomes. We evaluate how informal care and formal care affect (or are associated with) health care use of care recipients, health care costs of care recipients, and health outcomes of care recipients. The literature to date suggests that informal care, either alone or in concert with formal care, delivers improvements in the health and well-being of older adults receiving care. The conclusions one can draw about the effects of formal care are less clear.

Keywords: care recipient outcomes; formal care; health care costs; health care use; health outcomes; home care; informal care; well-being.

Figure 1

The conceptual model, adapted from the Andersen model (2), depicts causal mechanisms affecting care recipient outcomes. Abbreviations: ADL, activities of daily living; IADL, instrumental activities of daily living.