title: Exploring the activity profile of health care assistants and nurses in home nursing.
abstract: Are home nurses (also known as community nurses) ready for their changing role in primary care? A quantitative study was performed in home nursing in Flanders, Belgium, to explore the activity profile of home nurses and health care assistants, using the 24-hour recall instrument for home nursing. Seven dates were determined, covering each day of the week and the weekend, on which data collection would take place. All the home nurses and health care assistants from the participating organisations across Flanders were invited to participate in the study. All data were measured at nominal level. A total of 2478 home nurses and 277 health care assistants registered 336 128 (47 977 patients) and 36 905 (4558 patients) activities, respectively. Home nurses and health care assistants mainly perform 'self-care facilitation' activities in combination with 'psychosocial care' activities. Health care assistants also support home nurses in the 'selfcare facilitation' of patients who do not have a specific nursing indication.
authors.affiliation: Research Associate at Nursing Department, Wit-Gele Kruis van Vlaanderen, Brussels, and Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kristel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: De Vliegher
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aertgeerts
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Declercq
authors.affiliation: Professor at Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, The Heart Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, and The Institute of Health and Care Science, Centre for Person-Centred Care, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moons
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001530:Belgium; D005260:Female; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009728:Nursing Assistants / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology*; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Belgium; health care assistants; home nurses; home nursing; quantitative research