Substudy 4 Fact Sheet

Pilot Study of the Costs and Outcomes of Home Care and Residential Long Term Care Services (NA101-04)

Sponsor Organization:
University of Victoria and Hollander Analytical Services Ltd.

Rationale/Goals:
This project is one of fifteen sub-studies of the National Evaluation of the Cost-Effectiveness of Home Care Project (NA101). Sub-study 4 was designed as a small pilot study for a second, larger study (sub-study 5) that focused on the costs and outcomes of care in the community and in long term care facilities, in particular delineating the economic, social and psychological burden borne by family members and informal caregivers when clients are in home care compared to institutional settings. The purpose of this pilot study was to test instrumentation and determine the feasibility of data collection strategies in order to identify the final structure of the interview process and the formats for the data collection tools in Sub-study 5.

Activities:
Interviews were conducted with both clients and informal caregivers at three study sites: Winnipeg, rural Prince Edward Island and London, Ontario. Information regarding the expenditures, time, and assistance associated with both formal and informal service provision was collected through a series of diaries maintained by clients, informal caregivers, and service providers. Instruments were revised based on the results of the interviewing process, the time required to administer the instruments and the results of the analyses.

Key Findings:
The project leaders identified the following outcomes:

• Both of the original questionnaires (client and caregiver) were too long, which discouraged participation.
• The instruments for Sub-study 5 were gradually refined and included only those items that tapped information relevant to the purposes of the study.

Implications:
The project leaders indicated that their findings are important because, in their view, some measurement tools were developed which were appropriate for further research into measuring the costs and outcomes of care for clients living in the community as well as in facilities.

Evaluation Methodology:
As this project sought to develop viable data collection methods for a larger study (see sub-study 5), please see the "Key Findings" section.

HTF Contribution to the Project:
$1,505,000 (divided among the 15 sub-studies)

Language of Report:
English

• Executive summary
• Full report