Abstract

The United States is currently faced with the challenge of how and where to care for its aging population. Nurse practitioner (NP) home-based care is a potential solution to meet this challenge. Current research indicates that care provision by advanced practice nurses reduces cost, decreases length of stay and readmission to hospitals, and improves patient quality of life. The purpose of this research was to examine the state of the science regarding home-based geriatric care by NPs and to determine the current status and potential expansion of NPs in home-based care for elderly patients. Advanced practice nurses are able to fill the provider gap for aged patients. The future of healthcare in the US is linked to the willingness of this workforce to provide appropriate care in the most expedient setting. Finding innovative ways to address the needs of this population is important to relieving some of the burdens associated with fragmented healthcare for older adults and curtailing the growing financial burden of inpatient care for the nation's elders.

Date of publication

Fall 11-14-2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

english

Persistent identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/95

Download

Included in

Nursing Commons

Share

COinS