Can home health aids using the clinical algorithm Algo choose the right bath seat for clients having a straightforward problem?

OBJECTIVE

To determine if Algo, a clinical algorithm to select bathing equipment for 'straightforward' cases, guides home health aides in selecting the appropriate bath seat.

DESIGN

Criterion validity study.

SETTING

Community home care.

SUBJECTS

Eight home health aides used Algo with community-dwelling older adults having a straightforward problem.

MAIN MEASURES

Their bath-seat recommendations were compared with those proposed by an occupational therapist (OT), which were considered as the gold standard. In order to determine a clinically acceptable threshold of agreement between the recommendations, a subgroup of community-dwelling elderly people was assessed a third time by another OT.

RESULTS

Half of the clients (74/143) for whom bathroom assessments were requested qualified as potentially straightforward cases after triage and were visited at home by a home health aide using Algo. In 84% of cases (95% confidence interval (CI) = [75, 93]), the non-OTs using Algo identified a seat that would enable these older adults to bathe according to their preferences, abilities and environment, as confirmed by the gold standard OT. Moreover, this appropriateness rate did not statistically differ from that obtained when comparing another OT to the gold standard.

CONCLUSION

Algo guides non-OTs toward a bath seat that meets the needs of community-dwelling older adults in the majority of cases.