Factors Influencing Demand for Home Care Services for the Disabled Elderly: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: In recent years, home care has become the mainstream method of providing for disabled elderly individuals. However, these individuals often suffer from a variety of chronic diseases that worsen with age, increasing their need for health services such as diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. As a result, it is imperative to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the home health management needs of disabled elderly individuals and the factors that influence these needs.
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Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the various factors that contribute to the demand for home care services among elderly individuals with disabilities. 

Design: A systematic mixed studies review.

Data source: Research published in Chinese and English until December 2022 was extracted from seven databases: CNKI, Wan Fang, CBM, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science.

Review method: To ensure impartiality, the potential for bias was thoroughly evaluated. Through data-driven convergent synthesis, the factors that were identified were combined and presented in a table format. The groupings of factors were arranged by theme and were agreed upon by all researchers during collaborative meetings.

Results: The study revealed that the factors affecting the home service care needs of the elderly with disabilities are multifaceted and diverse, encompassing demographic, physiological, psychological, and sociological aspects. These factors can be broadly categorized as personal characteristics (age, gender, education level, degree of disability, and self-assessed health status), economic-related factors (house property rights, medical insurance, retirement benefits, living affluence, whether the source of income is sufficient, illness, and timely medical treatment), human resource factors (number of children, marital status, main caregiver, attitude of main caregiver, total hours of care in a week, main chatter), and social resource factors (community elderly care service, annual routine physical examination in the community, distance from home to the nearest medical facility). The demand for home care services for disabled elderly individuals is influenced by various factors from the perspectives of different groups, including the disabled elderly, their family members, and nursing staff. In addition to these factors, the quality of care provided is also crucial for disabled older adults who rely on home care services.

Conclusions: This study provides an integration of factors that influence home care services for disabled elderly individuals. It offers various intervention measures to be incorporated into home care practices, with the aim of actively and effectively addressing these influencing factors. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the quality of life for disabled elderly individuals. Further research should prioritize enhancing laws and regulations pertaining to home care services for disabled seniors. Additionally, implementing a government-supported subsidy system for long-term care services for this population is crucial. Ongoing efforts to develop community-based elderly care services and training professional long-term care service providers should also be emphasized. The nursing team pays attention to the spiritual and cultural life of the disabled elderly, and optimizes the medical and health services for the disabled elderly.

Note:
Funding declaration: This study was supported by the Science and Technology Program of Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, China, No. 133

Conflict of Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)

Keywords: Disabled elderly, Home care, influencing factors