Home health care utilization: a causal model.

The present study develops and tests a causal model of home health care utilization by the Lucas County elderly. Path analysis was employed to evaluate the model on an area probability sample of 400 Ohio elderly. The findings indicate that the predictors of home health care are more diverse than was expected with the need factor (need for care, use of health appliances, limits to daily activities), enabling factor (knowledge of resources) and predisposing (age) factors all contributing to the use process.