Preventive home visits to seniors

Background: Healthcare is facing enormous demands with an ageing population nationally and internationally. Preventive home visits (PHVs) is an effort to support active and healthy aging. Seniors are offered a home visit including both health promotion as well as disease prevention. Assessments are made f.ex. regarding fall risk, malnutrition, osteoporosis, and social situation. Information and advice is provided. There is extensive evidence that PHVs provide security to the elderly, reduce the need for care, mortality, and costs for healthcare. The organization of and structure for the PHV varies nationally and internationally in different practices. The public health agency in Sweden highlights the need for a national guideline for how PHVs shall be conducted.

Aims: This project aims to optimize and harmonize the PHV through development of a model including the service, organisation as well as a digital support system (digital assessment, advisory- and decision-support) for the visits. Furthermore, the purpose is to monitor and evaluate the implementation and outcome of PHVs.

Methods: The model will be developed through the integration of scientific evidence, interdisciplinary practical expertise, and experience from PHV through regular meetings and workshops with relevant stakeholders/knowledge users (elderly women and men, relatives, professions and decision makers). The Participatory Action Research approach characterizes the Pre-H project. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be used.

Expected results: A well-defined model for PHV evaluated from interdisciplinary perspectives, has the potential to be significant for seniors by preventing functional decline, maintaining independence and health, and decreasing the individuals' and society's costs for health and service. A deeper understanding of hindrances and possibilities in the implementation of PHV will be gained through the research which is of importance for the upscaling of PHVs nationally and internationally.