Making research integral to home care services.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety Research
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Home care is Canada's fastest-growing healthcare sector.
• Patient safety research is historically concentrated in institutional settings, neglecting home care.
• There's a need to address safety in the expanding home care landscape.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a case example of embedding a nurse researcher within a home care organization.
• To demonstrate how this model can foster health services research.
• To highlight the impact on patient safety and policy agendas.

Main Methods:

• A national not-for-profit home and community care provider (Victorian Order of Nurses Canada) embedded a nurse researcher.
• This initiative aimed to create a supportive environment for health services research.
• The strategy focused on integrating research into organizational practices.

Main Results:

• Embedding a nurse researcher fostered an environment conducive to health services research.
• Key issues, including home care patient safety, were elevated to national research and policy discussions.
• The model facilitated system-level change across multiple healthcare levels.

Conclusions:

• Integrating nurse researchers is a viable model for advancing home care research.
• Partnerships are crucial for embedding researchers in home care organizations.
• This approach can significantly impact patient safety and healthcare policy.