PhD defence Marit Schwenke-Zimmermann

Keywords: Home care nursing, Needs assessment, Practice variation, Optimization

"Insights and Initial Steps to Optimise the Needs Assessment Process in Home Care Nursing"

Since 2015, home care nurses in the Netherlands have been responsible for deciding what type and amount of nursing care people need at home. These decisions are made through needs assessments. In everyday practice, however, people with similar needs do not always receive the same assessed care. At the same time, the population is ageing, care needs are becoming more complex, and more care is being provided at home. This makes high-quality and efficient home care nursing increasingly important. This thesis explores why differences occur in needs assessments in home care nursing. It examines how these differences can be understood, which factors influence nurses’ decisions, and which barriers and facilitators professionals experience in their work. Based on these insights, the thesis provides initial steps towards improving and making the needs assessment process more consistent. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening the professional role of home care nurses, improving collaboration between organisations, and building a stronger scientific foundation for home care nursing.

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