Title: Improving
the quality of community nursing care: strategies and instruments developed in
Germany
Authors: Dr.
Monika Habermann,
Heidrun Biedermann
Key Words: quality development –
nursing care in the community – presentation of research results
Introduction
The long
term care insurance in Germany intends to support individuals with long-term
health care needs to remain at home as long as possible. Many private and welfare organizations have consequently
entered this new market and offer a variety of
services. This makes objective verification of maintenance and
improvement of the quality of care important to the funding agencies as well as
the recipients.
In a first
phase of a two-year study funded by the Ministry of Education and Research of
the FRG the development, consolidation and implementation of an evaluation
instrument for quality assurance in the home care setting have been explored.
Methods
Methods
used in this study were explorative interviews with experts in the institutions
(N=20), who are responsible for quality development; group discussions with
care givers (N= 20); a content analysis of forms and written records as they
were developed and used by institutions
since implementing the tool (N=160).
The findings demonstrate the importance of cooperative consultation and
networking as well as the need for leadership expertise in home care settings.
Opportunities for further professionalization of nursing in home care as well
as risks for deprofessionalization could be identified. Specific recommendations on quality
control instruments for use in the home health care setting can be made based
on the results of this study.