Residents of East Prince who receive home care through East Prince Health are very satisfied with the service according to a recently completed survey.
The survey indicated an overall satisfaction rate of 93.4 per cent, Respondents were particularly satisfied with program staff, registering a satisfaction rate of 98.5 per cent. The survey also showed that 87 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied with the care received, while 86.9 per cent were satisfied with their access to home care and support.
The Home Care Program helps individuals to maintain their independence by continuing to live safely at home or by returning home when home is the most appropriate place to be.
It provides a variety of services such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, nursing, dietician and social work services, home support, which includes personal care and respite care, and community support which helps individuals access additional services and support they may need.
These very high levels of satisfaction were consistent for both rural and urban clients. Rural clients had slightly lower aggregate satisfaction levels but the difference is not significant statistically and there appear to be no perceived differences between the experiences of urban and rural clients.
The consistently high overall levels of satisfaction demonstrate that home care clients in both urban and rural areas receive comparable levels of care and experience comparable ease in accessing the services.
When analyzed by age group, the overall satisfaction levels ranged from 91.7 per cent for clients under the age of 65 to 93.1 per cent for clients aged between 65 and 79 years.
Among the respondents, there appears to be widespread satisfaction with the various aspects of the home care program. Program staff, as well as services, ranging from home supports to nursing care, are highly regarded and appreciated.
The skills and compassion of staff were noted in the responses received and clearly were an underlying theme in many comments. The survey demonstrated that the program is making a significant difference. This is important given an ageing population and the trend towards increased community-based care.
The survey was conducted between July 23 and August 13, 2004 . Survey questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 160 home care clients, evenly distributed amongst clients in urban and rural locations. The overall adjusted response rate was 54.8 per cent, based on a return of 61 questionnaires from urban clients and 24 questionnaires from rural clients.
The overall sample size is considered to be sufficiently large to allow for conclusions to be drawn for the entire population of home care clients.
Copies of Home Care Client Satisfaction Results are available by calling 888-8028.