Which components of a primary care affiliated home visiting nurse program are associated with disability maintenance/improvement?

A process evaluation of a primary care affiliated home visiting nurse intervention was performed to determine which intervention components were associated with disability maintenance/improvement. This secondary analysis (N = 238) used data recorded in intervention databases and patient interviews among community-dwelling elders with disability. Intervention components were examined in descriptive, correlational, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses. Results demonstrated that two structure components--physician-patient-family-nurse conference visits and intervention (education) materials--and three process components--disease management activities, goal setting, and medication management activities--were linked to maintaining/improving activities of daily living disability status. Confirmation of these findings may help home care nurses to delay disability worsening.