Nursing practice and patient care in a changing home healthcare environment

The home healthcare industry is in a period of rapid growth and change driven by events occurring in the larger healthcare system. This descriptive, qualitative study explored the effect of recent system changes on home healthcare nurses and their practice. Nurses in six focus groups contributed data on their perceptions of these effects. Study results suggest that nurses and nursing care have not been adversely affected by recent system changes. However, results also suggest some troubling trends.