The contribution of hospital-based home health services in pulmonary diseases: Current Practice in Turkey

BACKGROUND: The medical management of chronic respiratory diseases becomes more difficult with the increase in the rate of the elderly population. Monitoring and treating chronic respiratory diseases at home are more comfortable for both the patient and their relatives. Therefore, countries need to develop policies regarding home health services (HHS) according to the state of their social, cultural, and financial infrastructure. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to show the role and contribution of hospital-based HHS regarding respiratory disorders, and to evaluate the model and its efficiency. STUDY DESIGN: The design of this study was cross-sectional. Data were obtained from the Ministry of Health of Turkey with official permission. Data were collected for HHS concerning respiratory diseases between 2011 and 2017. Age and sex distribution, the number of recorded patients, the number of visits for pulmonary diseases, the distribution of institutional visits, and the quantitative alterations within the years were investigated. STUDY POPULATION: The study population was based on patients with respiratory disorders who were given HHS as directed by the Ministry of Health of Turkey. RESULTS: Between 2011 and 2017, the majority of patients with pulmonary diseases, mostly those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and lung cancer, visited government hospitals (78%). The number of house visits concerning pulmonary disorders increased nearly ten times, but hospitalization due to respiratory diseases decreased (13.5% in 2011 to 12.9% in 2017). CONCLUSION: Hospital-based HHS in pulmonary diseases can be considered as an appropriate model for implementation for countries like Turkey, those that have inadequate hospice-type health service infrastructure.