Unmet Caregiving Needs Among Sepsis Survivors Receiving Home Health Care: The Need for Caregiver Training

Unmet needs for family caregiver assistance threaten patient outcomes during Medicare home health care (HHC). Sepsis survivors represent a growing proportion of the HHC patient population, but little is known regarding their risk for unmet caregiving needs. We describe prevalence and underlying cause of unmet caregiving needs for sepsis survivors receiving HHC, using HHC patient assessment data for 85,851 older sepsis survivors receiving post-acute HHC in 2013-2014. Unmet caregiving needs were most common for assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) (28%) and medication administration (27%). Caregivers' need for training accounted for more than three-fourths of all unmet caregiving needs. Those who experienced decline/no improvement in cognitive function were more likely to experience unmet caregiving needs. Findings highlight the potential value of expanding family caregiver training to improve HHC outcomes for sepsis survivors and indicate that caregivers of sepsis survivors with poor cognitive function may benefit most.

Automated summary

This study examines the prevalence and underlying causes of unmet caregiving needs for sepsis survivors receiving Medicare home health care (HHC). The findings show that the most common unmet needs are assistance with daily activities and medication administration, and caregivers' need for training contributes to the majority of these unmet needs. Additionally, sepsis survivors with declined or no improvement in cognitive function are more likely to have unmet caregiving needs. These findings emphasize the importance of expanding family caregiver training to improve outcomes for sepsis survivors receiving HHC.