Community health services in European literature: A systematic review of their features, outcomes, and nursing contribution to care

Valeria Caponnetto¹, Angelo Dante¹, Khadija El Aoufy², Maria Ramona Melis³, Giulia Ottonello^{4

5

6}, Francesca Napolitano^{4

7}, Fabio Ferraiuolo¹, Francesco Camero¹, Angela Cuoco^{8

9}, Ilaria Erba¹⁰, Laura Rasero^{2

11}, Loredana Sasso^{4

11}, Annamaria Bagnasco^{4

11}, Rosaria Alvaro^{8

11}, Duilio Fiorenzo Manara^{11

12}, Gennaro Rocco^{13

14}, Maurizio Zega^{13

15}, Giancarlo Cicolini^{15

16}, Beatrice Mazzoleni^{15

17}, Loreto Lancia^{1

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
² Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
³ Staff Training Department, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy.
⁴ Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genova, Italy.
⁵ Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
⁶ Direction of Health Professionals, "IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini,", Genova, Italy.
⁷ Department of Emergency and Admission, Policlinic Hospital "IRCSS San Martino,", Genova, Italy.
⁸ Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
⁹ Orthopedic and Traumatology Clinic, Orthopedic Institute "IRCSS Rizzoli,", Bologna, Italy.
¹⁰ Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Saint Camillus International University of Health and Medical Sciences, Rome, Italy.
¹¹ Scientific Committee CERSI-FNOPI, Federazione Nazionale Ordini Professioni Infermieristiche, Rome, Italy.
¹² Center for Nursing Research and Innovation, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
¹³ Center of Excellence for Nursing Scholarship, Rome, Italy.
¹⁴ Faculty of Medicine, University "Our Lady of the Good Counsel", Tirana, Albania.
¹⁵ FNOPI, Federazione Nazionale Ordini Professioni Infermieristiche, Rome, Italy.
¹⁶ Section of Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Innovative Technologies in Medicine & Dentistry, University "G. d'Annunzio" Chieti - Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
¹⁷ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy.

PMID: 39073363
PMCID: PMC11600541
DOI: 10.1111/inr.13033

Community health services in European literature: A systematic review of their features, outcomes, and nursing contribution to care

Valeria Caponnetto et al. Int Nurs Rev. 2024 Dec.

. 2024 Dec;71(4):716-728.

doi: 10.1111/inr.13033. Epub 2024 Jul 29.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
² Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
³ Staff Training Department, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy.
⁴ Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genova, Italy.
⁵ Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
⁶ Direction of Health Professionals, "IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini,", Genova, Italy.
⁷ Department of Emergency and Admission, Policlinic Hospital "IRCSS San Martino,", Genova, Italy.
⁸ Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
⁹ Orthopedic and Traumatology Clinic, Orthopedic Institute "IRCSS Rizzoli,", Bologna, Italy.
¹⁰ Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Saint Camillus International University of Health and Medical Sciences, Rome, Italy.
¹¹ Scientific Committee CERSI-FNOPI, Federazione Nazionale Ordini Professioni Infermieristiche, Rome, Italy.
¹² Center for Nursing Research and Innovation, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
¹³ Center of Excellence for Nursing Scholarship, Rome, Italy.
¹⁴ Faculty of Medicine, University "Our Lady of the Good Counsel", Tirana, Albania.
¹⁵ FNOPI, Federazione Nazionale Ordini Professioni Infermieristiche, Rome, Italy.
¹⁶ Section of Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Innovative Technologies in Medicine & Dentistry, University "G. d'Annunzio" Chieti - Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
¹⁷ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy.

PMID: 39073363
PMCID: PMC11600541
DOI: 10.1111/inr.13033

Abstract

Background: To meet the population's needs, community care should be customized and continuous, adequately equipped, and monitored.

Introduction: Considering their fragmented and heterogeneous nature, a summary of community healthcare services described in European literature is needed. The aim of this study was to summarize their organizational models, outcomes, nursing contribution to care, and nursing-related determinants of outcomes.

Methods: A systematic review was performed by searching PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Embase in October 2022 and October 2023 (for updated results). Quantitative studies investigating the effects of community care, including nursing contribution, on patient outcomes were included and summarized. Reporting followed the PRISMA checklist. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022383856).

Results: Twenty-three studies describing six types of community care services were included, which are heterogeneous in terms of target population, country, interventions, organizational characteristics, and investigated outcomes. Heterogeneous services' effects were observed for access to emergency services, satisfaction, and compliance with treatment. Services revealed a potential to reduce rehospitalizations of people with long-term conditions, frail or older persons, children, and heart failure patients. Models are mainly multidisciplinary and, although staffing and workload may also have an impact on provided care, this was not enough investigated.

Discussion: Community health services described in European literature in the last decade are in line with population needs and suggest different suitable models and settings according to different care needs. Community care should be strengthened in health systems, although the influence of staffing, workload, and work environment on nursing care should be investigated by developing new management models.

Conclusions and implications for health policy: Community care models are heterogeneous across Europe, and the optimum organizational structure is not clear yet. Future policies should consider the impact of community care on both health and economic outcomes and enhance nursing contributions to care.

Keywords: Community care services; home care services; nursing determinants; nursing homes; patient outcomes; primary care; remote health; systematic review; transitional care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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References

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Community health services in European literature: A systematic review of their features, outcomes, and nursing contribution to care

Affiliations

Community health services in European literature: A systematic review of their features, outcomes, and nursing contribution to care

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources