DEVELOPMENT OF IN-HOME CARE QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESS

THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE IN-HOME CARE QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESS CONSISTING OF: AN ASSESSMENT TOOL, DATA RECORDS, CARE PLANNING AND CLIENT SATISFACTION ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTS, AND SEVERAL QUESTIONNAIRES FOR SURVEYING CLIENTS TO MONITOR THE QUALITY OF SERVICES. A PROTOTYPE PERSONAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE PACKAGE TO IMPLEMENT THE DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING REQUIRED FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE WILL BE DEVELOPED. THE RESEARCH WILL IDENTIFY INDICATORS OF QUALITY OF ASSURANCE FOR IN-HOME SERVICES. PHASE I EFFORT WILL REFINE THE DATA ELEMENTS AND DOCUMENTS AND ESTABLISH VALIDATION CRITERIA, USING REVIEW BY CONSENSUS FOCUS GROUPS OF EXPERTS CONVENED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE FAIRFAX COUNTY AREA AGENCY ON AGING. PHASE II WILL IMPLEMENT AND TEST THE QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESS, CLIENT OUTCOME MEASURES, AND THE COMPUTER SOFTWARE SYSTEM IN COOPERATION WITH THE FAIRFAX COUNTY AREA AGENCY ON AGING, HOME HEALTH AGENCY MEMBERS OF THE FAIRFAX HOME CARE TASK FORCE, AND THE NORTHERN VIRGINIA LONG TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN. THE COMPLETED QUALITY OF CARE ASSURANCE SYSTEM AND SOFTWARE PROGRAM WILL MEET THE CARE MONITORING, CASE MANAGEMENT AND DATA REPORTING NEEDS OF HOME HEALTH AGENCIES, AREA AGENCIES ON AGING AND DEPARTMENTS OF SOCIAL SERVICES, LONG TERM CARE OMBUDSMEN AND OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS.