Impact of covid-19 pandemic on home care services utilisation among adults: results of the retrospective study

Abstract

Aim: To examine how the use of home care services changed for individuals across service types and sociodemographic characteristics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting and Participants: In this retrospective descriptive study, the services provided by a private hospital's home health services unit between March 2020 and March 2022 were examined. Data were obtained from private hospital databases. Results: We determined that 1398 patients received 2097 home visits and 2574 health services. Most of the patients were over 65 years old and female. Approximately half of the home health services (45.7%) were done to take a specimen for blood and urine analysis. Most specimens were due to routine medical examinations for chronic disease. Other frequently requested services are Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing, surgical and pressure wound dressing, drug administrations (intramuscular, intravenous and subcutaneous), medical examination and nasogastric/urinary catheter applications. Conclusions and Implications: Those who applied most to home care during the pandemic period; were women, 65 years old and had a chronic disease. The most common reason for home care applications was to take specimens at home. This study provides information about the change in-home care services in pandemic situations. So, it sheds light on future research or contributes to making plans to manage similar conditions that cause changes in health services.