Impact of the Case Management Model through Community Liaison Nurses

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 May 29;16(11):1894. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16111894.

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to assess the model's impact on patients and their families in terms of outcomes and the efficiency results for the health system in Tenerife, Canary Islands, selecting a period of eight years from the time interval 2002-2018. The employed indicators were collected on a monthly basis. They referred to home care and its impact on clinical outcomes and on the use of resources. The comparison between the indicators' tendencies with and without the liaison nurse model was done with the F-test by Snedecor. All these tests are bilateral, with a level of significance of p < 0.05. In those areas with community liaison nurse (CLN), improvements have been found in indicators that describe: (1) the management of the clinical status of patients, (2) the efficiency of the use of resources, and (3) the quality and compliance with the process that also includes home visits and social risk detection and management. It can be said that in the basic areas of primary health care where the work of the CLN develops there are improvements in the management of the patients' clinical condition as well as in the quality and efficiency of care.

Keywords: case management; community nursing; polypathological patients; primary health care; quality of health care.

MeSH terms

  • Case Management*
  • Female
  • Home Care Services / organization & administration*
  • Humans
  • Nurses*
  • Patient Outcome Assessment
  • Primary Health Care / organization & administration
  • Spain