Research and Development of Urban Health Infrastructure for Home Health Care for the Elderly

도시의 노인보건방문서비스를 위한 자원 및 모델 개발에 관한 연구

Home health care is one of the important components of health care services. Today, the need and demand for the home health care is increasing. To assess the effects of home visit health services by public health nurses in health center on the stat of health, use of medical services and quality of life by elderly people living at home, a randomized controlled trial was implemented for 65 years or more old people randomly allocated to intervention(93) and control(118) group. Intervention group received 2 visits a month over 6 months. Control group received no home visits. The data was collected in a one-year follow-up survey conducted at Kyongju before and after the intervention which composed of health risk assessment, risk factor education and health related behavior counseling. The prevalence rate of chronic illness was more decreased in intervention group than control group after intervention. The intervention group visited medical facilities less frequently than control group. And the home visit health services encouraged the elderly to practice regular exercise. After the intervention, the score of ADL(activities of daily living), LSI(life satisfaction index) and SSI(social support index) in intervention group were more increased than control group. And the increase of scores was more prominent in 70 years or more old people, female, non-smoker and non-chronic illed elderly rather than others. In conclusion, the regular home visit health services provided by public health nurses were beneficial for the elderly in terms of health promotion and quality of life.