Innovation in information and communication technology has a great potential to create large impact on modern healthcare. However, for the new technologies to be adopted, the innovations have to be meaningful and timely, taking into account user needs and addressing societal and ethical concerns. In this paper, we focus on ICT innovations related to home healthcare domain, in which patient safe...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To explore health care professionals' perspective of hospice at home service that has different components, individually tailored to meet the needs of patients. BACKGROUND Over 50% of adults diagnosed with a terminal illness and the majority of people who have cancer, prefer to be cared for and to die in their own home. Despite this, most deaths occur in hospital. Increasi...

The perception of physician shortage in Canada is widespread. Absolute shortages and relative discrepancies, both specialty-wise and in urban-rural distribution, have been a daunting policy challenge. International Medical Graduates (IMGs) have been at the core of mitigating this problem, especially as long as shortage of physicians in rural areas is concerned. Considering such recruitment as h...

As the elderly population has been rapidly expanding and the core tax-paying population has been shrinking, the need for adequate elderly health and housing services continues to grow while the resources to provide such services are becoming increasingly scarce. Thus, increasing the efficiency of the delivery of healthcare services through the use of modern technology is a pressing issue. The s...

BACKGROUND Relatives looking after a terminally ill family member at home face numerous challenges. Studies into relatives' experiences of home caregiving have been criticised for their descriptive nature and lack of theoretical underpinnings. AIM To explore the emotional challenges faced by home caregivers, and their experiences of healthcare professionals, from the perspective of existentia...

As the proportion of older adults increases within the Canadian population, healthcare systems across the country are facing increased demands for home-based services, including home care nursing, rehabilitation, case management, adult day programs, respite, meal programs and home support. Home support is one of the core care services required in the community to enable older adults to remain a...

BACKGROUND low muscle strength is central to geriatric syndromes including sarcopenia and frailty. It is well described in community-dwelling older people, but the epidemiology of grip strength of older people in rehabilitation or long-term care has been little explored. OBJECTIVE to describe grip strength of older people in rehabilitation and nursing home settings. DESIGN cross-sectional e...

The World Health Organization is calling for a fundamental change in healthcare services delivery, towards people-centred and integrated health services. This includes providing integrated care around people's needs that is effectively co-ordinated across providers and co-produced by professionals, the patient, the family and the community. At the same time, healthcare policies aim to scale bac...

In light of the emphasis on increased efficiency in the delivery of hospital-based healthcare services in Canada, healthcare administrators need to advocate for greater care in the community. The implementation of an antenatal home-care program for women with high-risk pregnancies at the Ottawa Hospital presented the opportunity to develop a comprehensive framework to evaluate the value and out...

Planned home birth has been considered by some to be consistent with professional responsibility in patient care. This article critically assesses the ethical and scientific justification for this view and shows it to be unjustified. We critically assess recent statements by professional associations of obstetricians, one that sanctions and one that endorses planned home birth. We base our crit...