Preventive Home Visits Among Frail Community-Dwelling Older Adults. The Added Value of Follow-Up Telephone Calls

Soc Work Public Health. 2024 Mar 16:1-14. doi: 10.1080/19371918.2024.2325555. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

People in need of care and support do not always find appropriate services. This paper aims to explore the content and added value of monthly follow-up telephone calls after preventive home visits. We used both monitoring data and qualitative semi-structured interviews (with older adults, formal and informal caregivers). Results indicate that a majority of older adults (N = 95) received a regular follow-up of four telephone calls. Social connection and involvement were mentioned by all three groups as positive aspects of the program. Although time-consuming, this paper draws attention to the added value of follow-up telephone calls after preventive home visits.

Keywords: Frail older adults; aging in place; follow-up telephone calls; preventive home visits.