Patient safety risk factors in the home healthcare setting

Purpose: The home healthcare sector is experiencing explosive growth, with a projected increase of 69% over the next decade. Further, the patient population served by home care is increasingly frail and elderly. Therefore, patient safety in the home healthcare sector is a topic of growing concern. Unlike traditional healthcare settings (i.e., hospital, health clinic, nursing home), the home is not only a residence, but also an unregulated work and caregiving environment, making it a challenging environment for both patients and caregivers.

Methods: A convenience sample of 1561 home health aides completed a facilitated questionnaire in order to identify risk factors for patient safety in the home care setting.

Results: Four major categories of household-related hazards were identified: unsanitary conditions (e.g., vermin), environmental hazards (e.g., air quality), slips, trips and falls hazards (e.g., loose rugs), and violence and psychosocial factors (e.g., drugs and guns in the home).

Conclusion: Household safety hazards were common in the home healthcare household, and these could adversely impact the home care patient health and well-being, as well as present risk to workers. It is necessary to develop a culture of safety, with attention to safety systems, in order to reduce the risk of injury to patients in this unregulated environment.