Process evaluation of a trial evaluating a multidisciplinary nurse-led home visiting programme for vulnerable older people.
OBJECTIVE
This article describes the content of and adherence with a nurse-led home visiting programme (Dutch Geriatric Intervention Programme; DGIP) for vulnerable older people. The randomised Dutch EASYcare Study showed positive patient endpoints for DGIP. Describing content and adherence is rarely performed, but highly important for understanding the results of trials.


METHODS
DGIP is a complex multicomponent intervention tailored to the patients' needs. This process evaluation describes these components and patient characteristics and creates meaningful clusters of these specific components using hierarchical cluster analysis. Both patient/caregiver and physician adherence rates and possible predictors were investigated.


RESULTS
In line with the heterogeneity among the subjects, the individual treatment plans turned out to be highly tailored. Cluster analysis identified five clusters of intervention components. DGIP turned out to be largely unsuitable for one group of very vulnerable older participants in urgent need of more care. Overall, physician adherence was 75% and was better than patient adherence (51% complete/partial adherence). Adherence levels increased when both patients, caregivers and physicians received recommendations.


CONCLUSIONS
The content of a multicomponent tailored home-visiting programme was very diverse, matching the heterogeneity among frail elderly subjects. Detailed process and cluster analysis helped to understand the content of the intervention, sharpen target criteria and identify possibilities to improve adherence.
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. r.melis@ger.umcn.nl
René J F
RJ
Melis
Monique I J
MI
van Eijken
Mebeline E
ME
Boon
Marcel G M
MG
Olde Rikkert
Theo
T
van Achterberg
D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006699:Home Care Services; D018577:Homebound Persons; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016294:Models, Nursing; D009426:Netherlands; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010349:Patient Compliance