Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to estimate the demand and supply of visiting nursing services provided by health centers in urban area, aiming at strengthening infrastructure, which may improved the quality of life and health status of vulnerable population in the community.
METHODS
This study was conducted through nominal group discussion, focus group study. The demand and supply of visiting nursing were estimated by health economists based on the secondary analysis data from 25 health centers in Seoul.
RESULT
Primary targets for the visiting nursing must be people who are homebound in the community. They can be classified into: a group of Level I: chronic patients who need visiting nursing care at least once a week; and a group of Level II: vulnerable families that need management periodically e. g. twice a month. Based on the estimation of demand for visiting nursing services in the community, the estimated supply required was 651~770 visiting nurses including home health nurses in visiting nursing programs based on health centers in Seoul.
CONCLUSIONS
The estimated demand and supply of visiting nursing are expected to provide basic data for establishing alternative policies on visiting nursing infrastructure that might be accomplished through demand-based visiting nursing programs by districts.