Evaluating the Quality of Home Care in China Using the Home Care Quality Assessment Tool

Tang, Xianping PhD
Ge, Song PhD
Ma, Chenjuan PhD
Chen, Xuemei PhD
Pei, Yaolin PhD
Zhou, Lanshu PhD
Wu, Bei PhD

¹Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
²University of Houston–Downtown, Houston, TX, USA
³NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York, NY, USA
⁴Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China

Lanshu Zhou, PhD, Clinical Nursing Department, Nursing School, Second Military Medical University, No. 800 Xiangyin Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, 200433, China. Email: [email protected]

Bei Wu, PhD, New York University, 433 First Avenue, Room 520 New York, NY10010, USA. Email: [email protected]

* Xianping Tang and Song Ge are co–first authors.

Journal of Transcultural Nursing 32(2):p 173-179, March 2021. | DOI: 10.1177/1043659620953191

Introduction

This study aimed to evaluate the quality of home care in China using the Home Care Quality Assessment Tool (HCQuAT).

Method

We recruited 38 home health agencies in Shanghai, China, which included 18 in urban areas, 11 in suburban areas, and nine in rural areas. Data on quality of home care from each agency were collected by trained staff using the HCQuAT.

Results

On average, these home health agencies scored 74.28/100.00 (SD = 6.80) on the HCQuAT, with an excellence rate of 39.5% and a failing rate of 23.7%. The mean scores on the structure quality module, process quality module, and outcome quality module were 71.2 ± 21.8, 86.6 ± 9.2, and 44.1 ± 37.5, respectively. Significant differences existed across geographic locations (p = .018).

Discussion

Significant variations were identified in the quality of home care across quality modules and geographic locations. Outcome quality and quality in rural areas were lower than those for their counterparts.