Effects of a home visiting program for older people with poor health status: a randomized, clinical trial in The Netherlands.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a home visiting program on health-related measures in a population of older people with poor health status.

Design: Randomized, clinical trial.

Setting: Community-dwelling citizens in The Netherlands.

Participants: Three hundred thirty people aged 70 to 84 randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=160) or a control group (n=170).

Intervention: Eight home visits, lasting 1 hour or more, with telephone follow-up, over an 18-month period, conducted by experienced home nurses under supervision of a public health nurse; key elements of the (systematic) visits were assessment of health problems and risks, advice, and referral to professional and community services.

Measurements: Self-rated health, functional status, quality of life, and changes in self-reported problems.

Results: No differences were found between the intervention and control group in these and other outcome measures at the end of the intervention period (18 months).

Conclusion: The home visiting program did not appear to have any effect on the health status of older people with poor health and are probably not beneficial for such persons.