Partnership launches research competition aimed at home-care patient safety
Data collected will help identify best practices
Monday February 8, 2010 -- Deron Hamel
Seven stakeholders have partnered to launch a competition aimed at obtaining data related to “the nature of patient safety” in home-care settings, in an effort to enhance best practices.

On Jan. 28, the partnership, which includes the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR), the Institute of Aging (IA), the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH), The Change Foundation and the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF), launched a request for applications for the Patient/Client Safety in Home Care in Canada competition.

Key objectives of the competition include gathering data specific to the nature of patient-safety issues in Canadian home-care settings, determining the frequency of adverse events in these environments, enhancing methodology as it relates to home-care safety, identifying best practices and producing a concrete explanation of home-care safety.

There is $1.1 million available to fund this initiative over two years.

An information document issued by the partnership explains that there is a need for more data on the “burden of safety problems and adverse events among Canadian home-care clients in the home-care setting.”

“Home-care clients are playing an increasingly significant role in their own care and may have differing perspectives of their care needs,” the document states.

“In addition, the concept of safety may vary between clients, informal caregivers and formal care providers.”

Information garnered from this project will enhance the World Health Organization’s (WHO) framework. Research undertaken must include seven points of consideration:

• Physical, social, emotional and functional aspects of patient safety in home-care environments
• The challenge of safety variables existing in home-care settings that cannot be regulated
• The balance between risk management and being respectful of patients’ lifestyle choices
• Patient safety as it relates to families and caregivers
• The effect of family/caregiver involvement in care delivery
• Education and responsibilities of care teams
• Focus on curbing safety risks for patients/clients “rather than on discrete events.”

The deadline for application submissions is April 8.

Click here for more information on the competition.

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