Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2022 Nov;30(6):e6091-e6101.
doi: 10.1111/hsc.14046. Epub 2022 Oct 6.

Quality of life of older Australians receiving home nursing services for complex care needs

Elizabeth S Robinson  1 , Elizabeth Cyarto  2   3 , Rajna Ogrin  1   4 , Maja Green  1 , Judy A Lowthian  1   3   5
Affiliations
Observational Study

Quality of life of older Australians receiving home nursing services for complex care needs

Elizabeth S Robinson et al. Health Soc Care Community. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Older Australians may live up to 10 years in ill health, most likely chronic disease-related. Those with multimorbidity report more healthcare visits, poorer health and take more medications compared with people with a single chronic disease. They are also at higher risk of hospital admission and poor quality of life. People living with multimorbidity are considered to have "complex care" needs. A person-centred approach to healthcare has led to increasing use of in-home nursing support, enabling older people to receive care at home. Our prospective observational study describes the profile and management of home-based care for older people with complex care needs and examines changes in their quality of life over 12 months. Routinely collected data were analysed, including demographics, medical history, medications and the visit activity of staff providing care to participants. Additional health-related quality of life and hospitalisation data were collected via quarterly surveys and analysed. Fifty-two participants (mean age 76.6 years, 54% female) with an average of eight diagnosed health conditions, received an average of four home care visits per week. Almost half the participants were hospitalised once during the 12-month period and experienced a significant decline in overall quality of life and in the dimensions measuring independent living and relationships over the study period. If ageing in place with good quality of life is to be realised by older adults with multimorbidity, support services including home nursing need to consider both the biomedical and social determinants perspectives when addressing health and social care needs.

Keywords: complex care; holistic care; home care; older; seniors.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Aarts, S., Patel, K. V., Garcia, M. E., Van Den Akker, M., Verhey, F. R. J., Metsemakers, J. F. M., Van Boxtel, M. P. J., Gudnason, V., Jonsdottir, M. K., Siggeirsdottir, K., Jonsson, P. V., Harris, T. B., & Launer, L. J. (2015). Co-presence of multimorbidity and disability with frailty: An examination of heterogeneity in the frail older population. The Journal of Frailty & Aging, 4, 131-138.
    1. Assessment of Quality of Life 2014. Scoring - Psychometric (unweighted) or Utility (weighted)? [Online]. Available: https://www.aqol.com.au/index.php/scoring-algorithms [Accessed February 2021].
    1. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2019). National Health Survey: First results, 2017-18. ABS.
    1. Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council. (2017). National Strategic Framework for chronic conditions. Australian Government.
    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, AIHW. (2002). Ageing in place, before and after the 1997 aged care reforms. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources