Safety concerns for rehabilitation nurses in home care

As the number of acute inpatient days decreases, more nurses are entering the home healthcare field, including those in the rehabilitation field. A major concern shared by many nurses is personal safety as they conduct home visits. A survey of 83 nurses in the home health field found that these individuals had community-safety concerns, such as poor communication systems, and safety concerns in clients' homes, such as lack of sanitation and uncontrolled pets, and lifestyles that included violence and substance abuse. Many participants said being the only healthcare provider in an isolated situation was a safety concern. Guidelines to help these workers ensure their own safety in home healthcare situations were developed to address the concerns expressed in the survey.