What You Should Know About Home Care During The Pandemic

It is important to look at how we can better support our essential home health workers. Nurses, often referred to as the “eyes and ears” of the home, are cementing their role amid an ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. The profession of nursing, including a certified nursing assistant, is one of our most accessible. ^{Sources: 0, 1, 6}

Previous studies have shown that even before the COVID 19 pandemic, healthcare workers at home were exposed to high levels of stress and job insecurity. During the pandemics, some informal home caregivers said they had a duty of care and increased psychological stress. This stress is exacerbated by the additional burden of pandemics on these workers, which is accompanied by high living costs and lack of access to health insurance. As the number of people in need of care continues to grow, and the time and resources available to care for them, this working population is likely to become increasingly vulnerable, both physically and financially. In the CoVID19 pandemic, home health workers are already facing a vulnerable workforce. ^{Sources: 8, 13}

The economic downturn, which has led to a significant increase in the number of people in need of home care, has encouraged their increased needs. Older adults who have moved out of nursing homes may choose home care, and older adults who move from nursing homes to home health care may also promote home care due to the high cost of living. ^{Sources: 10, 12}

Alternatively, home care is provided by so-called “home care assistants,” who are trained to understand the needs of the elderly in particular. A common assumption is that the patients live in a home with a living space and sufficient space. ^{Sources: 5, 13}

GPs can work with home health providers to work with team members in patient care during pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic also enables improved telemedicine and research into the application of telemonitoring in the health field. Preventive planning can help flu patients to be healthy in the first days or weeks of their illness and during the duration of the illness. ^{Sources: 7, 14}

Provide clear instructions to carers of people who are ill in relation to home care, including access to the health system and use of home health care providers. ^{Sources: 16}

A team of home nursing and hospice staff in combination with home care will prepare the patient and his family for optimal chances of success. Patients and other household members have adequate access to recommended personal protective equipment and can adhere to the precautions recommended in home care – care isolation. Many of the home helpers receive personal protective equipment as recommended, even if the caregiver is attached to a hospital or other practice. Another sector that receives little attention is direct care staff, including those who carry out treatment in the patient’s home. ^{Sources: 3, 4, 5, 10}

In a pandemic, especially in the early stages, health authorities can encourage workers who are not essential to life to stay at home. In the face of the ongoing COVID 19 pandemics, home care, where workers come to patients “homes for a few hours a week and guard their clients, is more important than ever. While preparing and planning for a pandemic flu, healthcare workers at home are likely to face some challenges. ^{Sources: 7, 8, 15}

Immediate expansion of home care services will reduce stress on the health system during a pandemic and also allow us to imagine what health care might look like after the pandemics are over. However, before we consider the impact of home care in the context of the current COVID 19 outbreak, it is important to understand the difference between home health care and home care. Policy planners who advocate home care often argue that home operators have different skills and abilities than healthcare workers in hospitals and other health systems. ^{Sources: 5, 10, 13}

Home care workers face the same challenges as nurses, paramedics, and hospice workers in hospitals, Hoak says, but they face other challenges in terms of access to life – saving personal protective equipment and medical equipment. In addition, nurses or hospice workers face different challenges than home carers because of the nature of their home with the patient, “he said. Nurses in residential care homes are also more likely to be understaffed and underpaid than nurses and other carers in the hospital system. ^{Sources: 2, 11}

Improving worker retention is one of the most important aspects of home health management and will be particularly important during a pandemic. The primary challenge for the homes and health facilities – the health authorities operating COVID 19 during pandemics – is to keep enough staff on board to respond to the needs of the community. ^{Sources: 7, 9}

Customers who rely on home support will continue to need care if they become infected during a flu pandemic. Thousands of people who do not need hospitalisation may need home care, and those who are hospitalised with the virus need it after discharge. Nurses are paid by Medicare to provide home support services such as food, water, shelter, medical care and other services. As with vaccinations, it will be important to involve home care providers when appropriate antiviral supplies are purchased and distributed.^{Sources: 7, 10}

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What You Should Know About Home Care During The Pandemic

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