Sociodemographic Characteristics of Patients Registered with a Home Care Unit and an Evaluation of the Health Services Offered

Objectives: The growing aging population and the difficulties they often face in accessing health services brought attention to home care units. Home care units provide services that make it easier for the elderly to meet their healthcare needs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics of patients who were served by the home care unit of one hospital family medicine clinic and to assess the services provided. Methods: The records of patients who were served by the home care unit of one hospital between January 1 and December 31, 2016,were retrospectively screened. The age, gender, diagnosis, frequency of home care visits, requested consultations and examinations, emergency service requests, and the details of patients who died were recorded. The data were statistically analyzed with a chi-square test and Student’s t-test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In 2016, 716 (64.8%) female and 389 (35.2%) male patients (total n=1105) were served by the unit. The mean age of the group was 78.24±15.43 years. When separated by age group, 87.1% of the patients were aged ≥65 years. There were more female patients than males among those older than 65 years, while the reverse was true among patients younger than 65 years of age. The most common diagnosis in the study group was Alzheimer’s disease, followed by essential hypertension and diabetes mellitus. An average of 6.54 visits was made during the year. More than half (n=624, 56.5%) of the patients were visited 4 or more times. The number of visits increased with greater age. Overall, Alzheimer’s disease patients received 3 or fewer visits, while 4 or more visits were made to patients with essential hypertension and endocrine disorders. A hemogram was requested for 83% (n=917) of the patients, biochemical tests for 63.5% (n=702), complete urinalysis for 34.9% (n=386), and a hormonal assay for 65.1% (n=719). In all, 39.3% (n=432) of the patients sought emergency service at least once. Consultations were not requested for 24 (2.2%) patients. A neurology consultation was the most frequently requested, for a total of 6 (0.25%) patients. During this period of follow-up, 114 (10.4%) patients died. Alzheimer’s disease was statistically significantly correlated with mortality (39.5%, n=45; p=0.031). Conclusion: Given the aging population, the provision of home health care services is growing in importance. It is most commonly expected to serve patients over 65 years of age and those with neurological diseases. In this study, patients with a diagnosis of essential hypertension or an endocrine disorder were visited more often. Multiple illnesses among elderly patients often lead to a greater number of tests and visits, and abnormal/erroneous results also contribute to the number of visits. Requests for unnecessary analyses affect the individual and society as a result of the economic and social burden incurred. It is important to assess patients from a multidisciplinary and biopsychosocial perspective and to increase the number of adequately trained staff in order to offer quality healthcare.