College

College of Health Professions (CHP)

Date of Last Revision

2023-05-03 19:21:07

Major

Social Work

Honors Course

7750:499:001:4197

Number of Credits

2

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Date of Expected Graduation

Spring 2020

Abstract

Patients and families searching for home health care need accurate information regarding the community resources available to them to promote aging in place and to maintain their quality of life. In connection to the social workers at Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care, the researcher identified a need for a centralized source of up-to-date information regarding local home health care agencies due to the current resource deficit. Social workers and other health care professionals are expected to benefit from a concise list of resources readily available to provide their patients and families with adequate support to make informed decisions about a loved one’s care. In addition, this is expected to make the process of coordinating care for a loved one significantly easier and more efficient, minimizing distress for both the patient and the caregiver. The methods used to create the Home Health Care Resource Binderinclude identifying agencies, making contact, collecting information, and organizing the information in a user-friendly resource binder. These methods were carried out through digital platforms, including Google Search, Google Sheets, and telephone communication. The researcher concluded that there should be improvements to the current procedures of coordinating care as it was quite challenging to find accurate information about home health care agencies online. These challenges arose despite the fact that the researcher is not in a caregiving situation, and therefore is not experiencing the common negative effects to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The findings in this essay provide a basis for further research to assess the ease of access to resources for caregivers and health care employees on a larger scale. Researchers may wish to consider condition-specific challenges for coordinating care in their assessment, as well as the rates of healthcare worker burnout related to inadequate resources.

Research Sponsor

Diana VanWinkle, Ed.S.

First Reader

Angela Alonso, MSW, LSW

Second Reader

Robin Brown

Honors Faculty Advisor

Michele Thornton, MSW, LSW

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