The impact of hospital restructuring on home care nursing.
BACKGROUND
Health reform in many industrialized countries has prompted the shift from institutional to community care. In Ontario, this approach was instigated through the Health Services Restructuring Commission.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine whether changes in the hospital sector between 1996 and 2000 resulted in changes in the provision of home-care services by nurses and practical nurses.


METHODS
This study was a retrospective trend analysis of linked hospitalization and home-care utilization data for Kingston for 1996 to 2000. The measures include the rate of home care and the volume and intensity of home-care services.


RESULTS
Between 1996 and 2000 there was a net 4% increase in the age-gender standardized rate of admission to home-care nursing services, with a 10% rate rise between 1996 and 1997. The total volume of home-care services increased during the study, as did the average intensity of home-care service delivery over the first month post-hospitalization during the first four years. This article will give readers their first look at the changes in home-care nursing following hospital restructuring in Kingston.
Keller
Suzanna
S
Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, Queen's Cancer Research Institute, Kingston, ON.
Hunter
Duncan
D
Shortt
S E D
SE
D000368:Aged; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration; D006302:Health Services Research; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006754:Hospital Restructuring / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000458:organization & administration; D006792:House Calls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015401:Nursing Administration Research; D009864:Ontario; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D012189:Retrospective Studies