The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of home-based primary care on outcomes for home-bound older adults, including hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits, quality of life and symptom control, costs of care, and burden of care for their informal caregivers. A mixed methods dissemination and implementation evaluation of home-based primary care will also be conducted.
Over one million seniors in the U.S. have functional limitations that prevent them from receiving office-based primary care. As a result, home-bound adults typically experience poor disease control, high rates of hospitalization, and large healthcare expenditures resulting for hospitalizations and emergency department use. Few modes of healthcare delivery designed specifically for the home-bound have been studied, but observational data suggest that home-based primary care could improve outcomes and reduce spending for these highly vulnerable patients.
The investigators propose a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of home-based primary care vs. office-based primary care for home-bound older adults, with 3 Specific Aims: to compare the impact of home-based primary care and office-based primary care 1) on hospitalization and emergency department visit rates, symptom control and quality of life, and satisfaction with care among home-bound elders; 2) on care-giving burden among informal caregivers (e.g., family and friends); and 3) on healthcare expenditures for the home-bound. The hypothesis is that patients in home-based primary care and their caregivers will have better outcomes compared to office-based primary care patients.
The study embraces the concepts of a pragmatic trial design to facilitate the translation of study findings for practical clinical, systems, and health policy applications. The study team includes experts in aging related health services research, health economics, health policy, randomized clinical trials, and the medical and nursing care of home-bound older adults.
The proposed study would be the largest prospective study of home-bound older adults and the only randomized trial of home-based primary car for the home-bound. It would fill important knowledge gaps in our understanding of the effects of home-based primary care for the home-bound. The study is consistent with the Institute of Medicine's call for expanded research on comprehensive models of chronic care, including the multidisciplinary management of chronic diseases and the medical home concept.
