Quality and cost-effectiveness analyses of home-visit nursing based on the frequency of nursing care visits and patients' quality of life: A pilot study

Aim This pilot study aimed to analyze the cost-effectiveness of visiting nursing care, to establish a new evaluation method considering both the quality and cost of visiting nursing care. Method Participants were 384 caregivers from 10 certified home-visit nursing agencies that support patients in severe conditions in Japan. They completed a survey assessing the number of nursing care visits carried out in November 2016, visiting nursing receipt data for 1 month of study and quality of life (QOL), as measured by the EuroQol-5 Dimension at their last visit, which took place 1 month later. Results We categorized participants into low-charge and high-charge groups. In the low-charge group, no relationship was found between high QOL and frequency of implementation of each type of care. In the high-charge group, participants with high frequencies of "medicine management and instruction," "description and guidance for diseases and treatment," and "nutrition and diet care" had higher levels of QOL. Conclusions This research might contribute to establishing a cost assessment system for home-visit nursing care in Japan, which is expected to be useful in countries where the average age of the population is increasing. Care provided by visiting nurses might be divided into care items that related or did not relate to QOL. Therefore, when evaluating the quality and cost-effectiveness of visiting nursing care, it is necessary to construct an evaluation system that considers these aspects and obtain appropriate data. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; center dot center dot: center dot center dot-center dot center dot.