A Study of Quality Indicators Groups, Home Care Utilization and Functional Status of Home Care Patients in Taiwan

Introduction: In Taiwan, Home Care Agencies are rising and flourishing in recent years. The most concerned issue in Home Care is to know how to improve the health status of home care patients. The objectives of this study are to explore the feasibility of using Quality Indicators Groups（QIGs）as a tool to compare the functional status and home care utilization of different groups of patients; to identify the factors which affect the home care utilization; and to evaluate the effects of home care utilizing on the functional status of the patients. Methods: A total of 1334 home care patients data from 2000-2001, including demographic information, content of the home care, health status of the patients, were obtained from Taiwan Association of Long Term Care Professionals. Data were analyzed by statistical software SPSS. Results: 1. Most home care patients were female, under 65 years old, married and illiterate , most of them discharged from hospitals, over one-third of them were disabled. 2. Functional status of most home care patients was poor. 3. The utilization of home care was significantly different among different Quality Indicators Groups. 4. Patients' characteristics and patients' previous health status affected the utilization of home care significantly. Conclusion: Quality Indicator Groups are classified according patients' acute medical problems, as well as chronic conditions and impairments. Resutls showed QIGs can reflect the difference of the utilization of home care and patients' health status. In the future, QIGs can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of health care of Home Care Agencies.