Effect of Home Visits by Nurses on the Physical and Psychosocial Health of Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: One of the best ways to maintain and develop physical and psychosocial health is to make regular home visits. This meta-analysis aimed to determine (by subgroups) the effects of interventions based on nurses' home visits on physical and psychological health outcomes of older people.

Methods: This search was carried out using the The CINAHL, Cochrane, MEDLINE, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Turkish databases. Experimental and observational studies were included.

Results: The meta-analysis included 26 (with subgroups 50) out of 13110 studies. The minimum and maximum values of the effect size (Hedges g) were g = -0.708 and g = 0.525, respectively. The average effect size was g = 0.084 (SD = 0.21).

Conclusion: Home visit interventions are effective in reducing the frequency of hospitalization in the older adults, and improving physical and psychosocial health. They are negatively effective on falls and have no significant effect on the quality of life.