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Family caregiver considerations for the future of hospital at home programs
Family caregiver considerations for the future of hospital at home programs
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Spotlight (AARP Public Policy Institute)
- Author(s):
- Reinhard, Susan, author
Caldera, Selena, author
Burke, Elizabeth, (Of ATI Advisory), author
Cromer, Tyler, author - Contributor(s):
- AARP (Organization), issuing body.
Public Policy Institute (AARP (Organization)), issuing body. - Publication:
- Washington, DC : AARP Public Policy Institute, August 2022
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Caregivers
Home Care Services, Hospital-Based
United States - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- The declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) accelerated an already burgeoning movement of health care into the home. An increasing number of health care systems are choosing to invest in home based care in new and innovative ways, and consumers are using these services at unprecedented levels. The Hospital at Home (HaH) model shifts care into the home setting and delivers acute hospital-level care to eligible patients where they live instead of in a hospital. This shift in venue may be the way of the future, as it is unlikely that health care will revert to prepandemic patterns once the PHE ends. Although moving hospital care into the home may be associated with positive health outcomes and patient satisfaction, it raises concerns about support for and inclusion of family in these care models. All health care consumers are best served when their family caregivers are part of their care plans and supported by a health care team. Given the potential for increased dependence on caregivers, HaH programs should ensure that family caregivers are both included and supported. These individuals are largely left on their own to learn how to manage and perform medical and nursing tasks; however, many family caregivers feel they have no choice. The recommendations included in this brief aim to ensure that HaH programs do the following: (1) Seek family caregivers’ assent once patients consent to acute care at home. (2) Do not expect caregivers to take on medical/ nursing tasks but provide training for caregivers who indicate they want those responsibilities. (3) Set the patient and caregiver up for a successful transfer to postacute care. Family caregivers are critical to HaH success, supplying vital observations, communications, and support for the patient, yet many current HaH programs neither explicitly account for the needs of family caregivers nor secure their assent. There is an overall lack of information regarding the expectations of family caregivers and how to access available support services in HaH programs. Further, few studies have assessed the impact of HaH on family caregivers. More inclusive and supportive policies for caregivers will allow HaH programs to truly meet the needs of both family caregivers and patients. In this publication, we present four Family Caregiver Considerations (see table) that HaH models can incorporate into policy and program design to best support these two groups.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (13 pages)).
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918504487306676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918504487306676