Increasing delivery of healthcare at home and the importance of hygiene

As healthcare costs rise, hospitals seek to discharge patients as quickly as possible. Patients requiring assistance during their home recovery may enlist the services of home healthcare aides or nurses. While home healthcare nurses perform more specific medial care, home healthcare aides assist with a wide range of tasks, including wound care, personal hygiene, daily living activities, and light cleaning of bathrooms and kitchens. While home care may be more cost-effective than hospital care and more comfortable for the patient, this creates a situation in which a particularly vulnerable population can be exposed to infectious agents transmitted in the home. Clearly, more research is needed to determine the effectiveness and health hazards of purportedly safer cleaners and disinfectants. Home healthcare patients and aides must be educated about the importance of proper hygiene and how to safely clean and disinfect critical surfaces in the home.