Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The COVID pandemic exacerbated existing challenges within the Canadian healthcare system and reinforced the need for long-term care LTC reform to prioritise building an integrated continuum of services to meet the needs of older adults. Almost all Canadians want to live, age and receive care at home, yet funding for home and community-based care and support services is limited and integration with primary care and specialised geriatric services is sparse.
Optimisation of existing home and community care services would equip the healthcare system to proactively meet the needs of older Canadians and enhance capacity within the hospital and residential care sectors to facilitate access and reduce wait times for those whose needs are best served in these settings.
An explanatory sequential mixed methods design will be applied across three phases. In the quantitative phase, secondary data analysis will be applied to historical Ontario Home Care data to develop unique groupings of patient needs according to known predictors of residential LTC home admission, and to define unique patient vignettes using dominant care needs. In the qualitative phase, a modified eDelphi process and focus groups will engage community-based clinicians, older adults and family caregivers in the development of needs-based home care packages.
The third phase involves triangulation to determine initial model feasibility. Results of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and local, national and international conferences.
Other forms of knowledge mobilisation will include webinars, policy briefs and lay summaries to elicit support for implementation and pilot testing phases.
