Evidence-based Standardized Care Plans for Use Internationally to Improve Home Care Practice and Population Health

Summary

Objectives: To develop evidence-based standardized care plans (EB-SCP) for use internationally to improve home care practice and population health.

Methods: A clinical-expert and scholarly method consisting of clinical experts recruitment, identification of health concerns, literature reviews, development of EB-SCPs using the Omaha System, a public comment period, revisions and consensus.

Results: Clinical experts from Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States participated in the project, together with University of Minnesota School of Nursing graduate students and faculty researchers. Twelve Omaha System problems were selected by the participating agencies as a basic home care assessment that should be used for all elderly and disabled patients. Interventions based on the literature and clinical expertise were compiled into EB-SCPs, and reviewed by the group. The EB-SCPs were revised and posted on-line for public comment; revised again, then approved in a public meeting by the participants. The EB-SCPs are posted on-line for international dissemination.

Conclusions: Home care EB-SCPs were successfully developed and published on-line. They provide a shared standard for use in practice and future home care research. This process is an exemplar for development of evidence-based practice standards to be used for assessment and documentation to support global population health and research.

Keywords

Evidence-based practice - standardization - patient care planning - home care services - Electronic health records

 

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this research.

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