TY - JOUR

T1 - Preventive home visits to elderly people in Denmark

AU - Hendriksen, C

AU - Vass, M

N1 - Keywords: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Denmark; Health Services for the Aged; Home Care Services; House Calls; Humans; Preventive Health Services; Program Evaluation; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

PY - 2005

Y1 - 2005

N2 - During the last 20 years several randomised controlled trials have been published about preventive home visits to old people, but the benefit of the visits is still controversial and under debate. Based on a state law from the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1998, the municipalities in Denmark are obliged to offer home visits twice a year to all citizens 75 years and older. After six years with this law, there is still variation of how the law is managed and implemented. About 60% of the elderly people accept and receive the visits. Less than 50% of the municipalities have made specific guidelines and quality assurance indicators. More than the half have systematically used the visits to collect information of community needs and older people' wishes to be used for administrative and political purposes. In a prospective, controlled, feasibility study conducted over a 3-year period we found that a brief, manageable and ongoing educational intervention towards professionals working with preventive home visits is feasible and improves older people's functional mobility.

AB - During the last 20 years several randomised controlled trials have been published about preventive home visits to old people, but the benefit of the visits is still controversial and under debate. Based on a state law from the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1998, the municipalities in Denmark are obliged to offer home visits twice a year to all citizens 75 years and older. After six years with this law, there is still variation of how the law is managed and implemented. About 60% of the elderly people accept and receive the visits. Less than 50% of the municipalities have made specific guidelines and quality assurance indicators. More than the half have systematically used the visits to collect information of community needs and older people' wishes to be used for administrative and political purposes. In a prospective, controlled, feasibility study conducted over a 3-year period we found that a brief, manageable and ongoing educational intervention towards professionals working with preventive home visits is feasible and improves older people's functional mobility.

U2 - 10.1007/s00391-005-1109-9

DO - 10.1007/s00391-005-1109-9

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 16189735

VL - 38 Suppl 1

SP - I31-3

JO - Zeitschrift fuer Gerontologie und Geriatrie

JF - Zeitschrift fuer Gerontologie und Geriatrie

SN - 0948-6704

ER -