The proposed project consists of three educational packages, videotape and notebook, to educate families on issues relating to at-home care for chronically or critically ill family members. These packages will serve the distinct home care needs of children, adults, and the elderly. Each package will educate families on issues involved in home care: emotional needs of patient and caregiver, funding/reimbursement issues, and the benefits and challenges of home care. During Phase II the PIs will produce all three packages. At a near-finished stage, they will be reviewed by the Board of Advisors and Focus Groups that consist of families and professionals. Comments from these reviews will be incorporated into the final versions. Each package will then be quantitatively tested with the clients of home care agencies from across the country. Barry Zamoff, EdD, will oversee this phase of research. Home care is becoming a reality for growing numbers of patients and their families as payers in the U.S. health care system try to cut costs and care for patients in lower-priced settings. With this increase in utilization comes an increased need for information and resources. These videotape/notebook packages are designed to fill that growing need.
