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Effects of a home visiting program for older people with poor health status: a randomized, clinical trial in The
Ans Bouman1, Erik van Rossum, Ton Ambergen
1Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. ans.nicolaides@epid.unimaas.nl
Objectives:
To evaluate the effectiveness of a home visiting program on health-related measures in a population of older people with poor health status.
Design:
Randomized, clinical trial.
Setting:
Community-dwelling citizens in The Netherlands.
Participants:
Three hundred thirty people aged 70 to 84 randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=160) or a control group (n=170).
Intervention:
Eight home visits, lasting 1 hour or more, with telephone follow-up, over an 18-month period, conducted by experienced home nurses under supervision of a public health nurse; key elements of the (systematic) visits were assessment of health problems and risks, advice, and referral to professional and community services.
Measurements:
Self-rated health, functional status, quality of life, and changes in self-reported problems.
Results:
No differences were found between the intervention and control group in these and other outcome measures at the end of the intervention period (18 months).
Conclusion:
The home visiting program did not appear to have any effect on the health status of older people with poor health and are probably not beneficial for such persons.
