Safety in the Home: The Association between Therapeutic Self-Care Ability and Occurrence of Adverse Events for Home Care Clients in Canada

DOI: 10.5176/2315-4330_WNC14.21

Authors: Winnie Sun and Diane Doran

Abstract: This research study is a retrospective cohort design and utilized secondary data to test the relationship between therapeutic self-care ability, and the frequency and types of adverse events experienced by home care clients using secondary data sources housed at the Institute of Clinical and Evaluative Sciences in Ontario, Canada. Using logistic regression analysis, the relationship between home care clients’ therapeutic self-care ability was examined in relation to two types of adverse events: (1) use of health care resources, including emergency room visits and hospital readmissions; (2) safety outcomes, including falls; unintended weight loss; urinary tract infection; decline in activities of daily living; pressure ulcer; compliance with medication; and decline in caregiver conditions. This study provides implications to health professionals about the need to focus on improving client self-care functioning, as well as providing evidence for policy formulation related to the importance of home care services in supporting chronic disease management.

Keywords: home care safety; adverse events; therapeutic self-care