On this page
Basics
Learn More
See, Play and Learn
- No links available
Resources
For You
Summary
Home care is care that allows a person with special needs to stay in their home. It might be for people who are getting older (aging in place). It could also be for people who are chronically ill, recovering from surgery, or have a disability. Home care services include:
- Personal care, such as help with bathing, washing your hair, or getting dressed
- Household chores, such as cleaning, yard work, and laundry
- Cooking for you in your home or delivering meals to you
- Money management, such as help filling out forms and making sure that your bills are paid on time
- Health care, such as having a home health aide come to your home or getting care from your provider through telehealth
You can get almost any type of help you want in your home. You have to pay for many of them. But some types of care and community services are free or donated. Sometimes government programs or your health insurance will help cover the cost of certain home care services.
Related Issues
- Adult Day Care (Administration for Community Living)
- Adult Day Services (National Adult Day Services Association) - PDF
- End of Life (Hospice Care) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
-
Telehealth: MedlinePlus Health Topic
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- What Are My Other Long-Term Care Choices? (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
Specifics
- Home Healthcare Medical Devices: A Checklist (Food and Drug Administration)
- Home Healthcare Medical Devices: Infusion Therapy - Getting the Most Out of Your Pump (Food and Drug Administration)
- Home Improvement Assistance (Administration for Community Living)
Statistics and Research
- Characteristics and Use of Home Health Care by Men and Women Aged 65 and Over (National Center for Health Statistics) - PDF
-
FastStats: Adult Day Services Centers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-
National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Study (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Home Care Services
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Do regulatory tools instigate measures to prevent work-related psychosocial and ergonomic...
- Article: Starting HMV at home: a reasonable option for many patients?
- Article: A cluster-randomized trial comparing home-based primary health care and usual clinic...
- Home Care Services -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- Home Health Compare: Find Home Health Services (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
- Meals on Wheels: Find a Meal (Meals on Wheels Association of America)
- Medicare: Find and Compare Health Care Providers (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Dementia - home care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Home health care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Home Healthcare Medical Devices: A Checklist (Food and Drug Administration)