Home health clients: characteristics, outcomes of care, and nursing interventions

The purpose of the study was to provide descriptive data about the characteristics of home health clients, the services that nurses provide, and the outcomes of those services. Such data have been sparse.

This study examined 2403 home health clients served by four agencies in Nebraska, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. Demographic, health history, and clinical data were analyzed. The Omaha System was used as the model for describing and measuring data specific to clients' health-related problems, nursing interventions, and outcomes of care.

The median age of home health clients was 68.6 years. Nurses conducted 70% of all home visits, identified 9107 client problems, and provided over 96,000 interventions. Between admission and dismissal, clients improved by at least 0.52 point on three 5-point problem-specific outcome subscales (Knowledge, Behavior, and Status).

These data show important characteristics of home health clients in a large national sample. They also support the usefulness of the Omaha System in describing and quantifying nursing practice in the community health setting. The magnitude of positive client change between admission and dismissal suggests that community health services do make a difference.