Home Care for Patients under 65
Introduction The increase in human population has put unbearable pressure to the existing facilities in the hospitals. This coupled by a number of desires for instance cutting medical bills, being close to family members, avoiding making other patients uncomfortable among others did necessitate the adoption of home care for patients (Levine et al. 2003). Home care is the offering of services and tools in the place of house of individuals and families that need such services and tools as a result of severe illness, long-term health conditions, lasting physical deformations and or incurable diseases.
The mentioned reasons coupled with, seeing other patients die and age differences between patients brings about varied lifestyles; those under 65 years old won’t coup well with the patients that are 65 years or older. This thus contributes to the former to opt for home care which has seen the number (Snyder, et al. 1998). It is agreed by various stakeholders that home care for patient when carefully thought before adopting has the greatest potential to manage themselves with assistance from medical provider in bettering their health conditions (Singer, 1999). The main objectives of home care include; encouraging optimistic health behaviors, enhancing functional capabilities of patients on life-sustaining devices, fostering optimal growth and development of infant and children, improving health as well as quality of life of patients via a comprehensive primary medical care as well as nursing rehabilitation services, reducing the need for hospitalization as well as nursing home, cutting down on visits on emergency department, cutting down on time patients spend in hospitals and readmission to such institutions, providing patients with incurable diseases to die in the comfort of their home if such was their desire, offer support to informal caregivers. The most important thing in life is to make decision based on fact so that there will be no or minimal chance of future regrets.
To thus help prospects and indeed those individual of less than 65 years of age in the program understand what home care entails, the advantages, drawbacks as well as challenges that will be faced by the patients, care givers, the family and medical professionals are brought to light (Thom‚ et al. 2003). Statement of the problem Over the years, the government of United States has struggled to provide her citizens with high quality heath care services by allocating huge some of money to health care department, construction of healthcare facilities, training of healthcare professionals among other initiatives (Marilyn, 2009). However, due to increased human population, desire to be close to family members, friends, cutting medical costs, most Americans have turned to home care service provision. It is worth noting that patients in hospitalized are made to share rooms as well as other facilities, the differences in age of these patients brings a lot of uneasiness for instance, those under 65 years like listening to louder music, which might be irritating for those patients over 65 years old.
Although there has been an increase in number of patients less than 65 years old seeking home care services, the reasons for doing so (advantages), disadvantages as well as the challenges facing all the stakeholders are not clearly known (Melin et al. 1993). The big problem is that some Americans and other individuals in the entire world do not know what home care is, it the characteristics, purpose/objectives, advantages, disadvantages as well as challenges laying a head that will affect all stakeholders especially the patients, service providers among others. Purpose of the study The purpose of this study is to explain what home care for patients means. The researcher’s main goal is to bring to light how home care for patients is done, the characteristics assocated with the concept, advantages and disadvantages, challenges facing the approach, general goals of home care for individuals and finally the attitudes and perceptions of the patients, health care professional as well as family members of the patients. In the recent past, the concept of providing home care to patients has gain popularity in the United States of America.
By 1998, records had it that there were close to 80 million Americans under the program. It is worth noting that the whole idea was hailed for helping decongesting the few existing hospital facilities and enhance patient comfortability of being with family members as well as reduced cost of medication among other advantages. Despite the fact that there have been an increasing number of patients seeking to adopt home care especially for patient less than 65 years old who cannot coexist with their older counter parts in terms of life style (Olsen & Maslin-Prothero, 2001), issues relating to advantages, disadvantages as well as challenges facing the concept are not clearly known. This thus lays the ground for the research and for that matter; the targeted audiences are patients less than 65 years old who are contemplating for home care services, medical professionals, the general public, scholars and governments. Scope of the study With clear understanding that no single study can adequately address all aspects of any given topic, there is need to clearly establish what the research will address.
The scope of this study thus is to explain that what home care for patient less than 65 years old is. In addition, issues relating to the advantages and disadvantages of the concept are addressed. Similarly, the challenges being faced by the various stakeholders of home care for patients less than 65 years old brought to light. Lastly, the attitudes and perceptions of the patients, family members and the providers of home care for patients are sought after and discussed in details. It is worth mentioning that the results that will be generated from the study will not only have implications in a narrow scope but be applicable in health care provision throughout the world. This is possible with some slight adjustments for it to fit the situation at hand.
Justification of the study The research is of a lot of importance as it will be an in depth evaluation of home care for patients as well as the impacts associated with the whole concept. Attitudes, perception and challenges facing home care for patients less than 65 years old are also addressed. The findings will be of importance to various stakeholders such as the Americans patients, Non-governmental Organization, healthcare department, health care professionals, and scholars as well as varied academic institutions. The findings herein will make American patients adopt healthcare services provided at their homes if they did not thought of it based on the advantages brought forward. It is worth noting that if this is done in a rational and sober manner, then our increasing number of patients that congest the few existing health care facilities in hospitals will be cared for. This is very important in determining the future of our population very significant in propelling the economy of the country.
Not carrying out this research will clearly depict that the various advantages, draw backs, challenges as well as attitudes and perceptions towards home care for patients less than 65 years old will not be brought to light. This will mean that the relevant stakeholders that seek to use such information to improve health care provision at homes will lack the vital benchmark to do so. Aims and objectives of the study Aim The aim of the research is to critically analyze and understand what Home Care for Patients less than 65 years of age means. Objectives To find out whhat is home care for patients as well as its characteristics To evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of home care for patients less that 65 years old To find out the challenges facing various stakeholders in their quest to provide patients with services while they are at their homes. To find out the attitudes and perceptions of the patients, family members and the providers of home care for patients less than 65 years old? Research questions and hypotheses What is home care for patients and its characteristics? What are the advantages or benefits associated with home care for patients? What are the disadvantages or drawbacks linked to home care for patients? What are the challenges that face home care for patient’s stakeholders (medics, the family and the patient)? What are the attitudes and perceptions of the patients, family members and the providers of home care for patients? What age group (less than 65) constitutes the largest number of patients under home care services? HypothesesHo There is a significant difference in the advantages and disadvantages associated with home care for patients less than 65 old Ha There is no significant difference in the advantages and disadvantages associated with home care for patients less than 65 old Ho There is significant differences in challenges facing various stakeholders in their quest to provide patients with services while they are at their homes Ha There is no significant differences in challenges facing various stakeholders in their quest to provide patients with services while they are at their homes Ho There is a significant difference in the attitudes and perceptions of the patients, family members and the providers of home care for patients less than 65 years old Ha There is no significant difference in the attitudes and perceptions of the patients, family members and the providers of home care for patients less than 65 years old Organization of the study Five distinct sections constitute the whole paper and this design makes it easy for those who will review it get to the relevant section with ease. Section one, the first chapter, is made up of the introduction, problem statement, purpose of the study, scope of the study, rationale/ justification of the study, aims and objective of the study, research questions and hypotheses, and finally definition of terms used in the paper.
Each of these subsections is adequately addressed to give insight to readers of what they expect in the paper. Section two, normally referred to as chapter two, and is made up entirely of all the literature that relates to the study topic. Data that will help explain that what is home care for patients less than 65 years old are used to give more insights on the same. Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages, challenges facing patients, medical professionals as well as family members regarding home care service provision are brought forth. Section three is the methodology chapter.
It entails the following subsections; introduction, research questions, research design or approach, population and sampling procedures, data collection methods, data analysis and presentations. Additionally, issues relating to limitation, assumptions of the study as well as ethical considerations are brought to light in this chapter. The fourth section chapter four is results and analysis. It is here that all statistical tests will be done and represented by use of descriptive statistics. Issues involved include demographic characteristics, t-test, cross tabulation and correlation and regression test.
It is this chapter that forms the backbone of the paper.The last section is organized as chapter five and is under the title Discussion and Evaluation. A recap of the finding and recommendations are given in this section.
