Evaluation of Pediatric Patients Receiving Home Health Services

Abstract

Background: Home health service is the provision of health and care and follow-up services to patients in line with the recommendations of physicians, in the environment they live with their families, by the healthcare team in a way that meets their medical needs, including rehabilitation, physiotherapy and psychological treatment. This study was conducted to evaluate the medical conditions of pediatric patients receiving home health services. Methods: This descriptive study includes pediatric patients under the age of 18 who received home health services from Diyarbakır Pediatric Hospital in Turkey. The files of patients who applied to the home health unit between 2017 and 2020 and were actively followed up were reviewed retrospectively. The diagnoses, reasons for demand and medical needs of the patients were examined. Results: The mean age of 372 patients who received home health services was 10.9±4.3 years. 46.5% of the patients were diagnosed with epilepsy, 46.2% with mental retardation, 22.3% with cerebral palsy. Home health services are mostly requested for examination (49.2%), diaper (37.4%), medicine (14.8%) and formula (14.8%) reports. While 74.8% of girls are fully bedridden, 62.7% of boys are fully dependent (p<0.05). Most of the patients who are bedridden are provided with personal care by their families. 35.6% of bedridden patients and 29.6% of semi-dependent patients need medical care (p<0.05). While 63-67% of bedridden patients need rehabilitation, 38% of not bedridden patients need rehabilitation (p<0.05). Conclusions: Most of the patients receiving home health services are bedridden and have neurological diseases. As bed dependency increases, the need for medical care increases.