HOME VISITING

INTRODUCTION

A home visit is one of the essential parts of the community health services because

most of the people are found in a home. Home visit fulfils the needs of individual, family

and community in general for nursing service and health counselling. A home visit is

considered as the backbone of community health service. A home visit is a family –

nurse contact which allows the health worker to assess the home and family situation in

order to provide the necessary nursing care and health-related activities.

DEFINITION

A home visit is defined as the process of providing the nursing care to patients at their

doorsteps. It requires technical skills, resourcefulness, judgment, relationships.

PRINCIPLE

When carrying out the home visit, the community health nurse should follow certain
basic principles which are as follow:
1. The home visit should have a purpose and objectives.
2. The home visit should be planned according to priority.
3. The purpose of the home visit should be clear, regular, and flexible according to
the needs of the family.
4. First of all, introduce yourself, your institution, your purpose, of a home visit, and
collects facts about an individual, family environment.
5. Establish a good interpersonal relationship between families and be polite,
courage, friendly.
6. Carefully listen the family and understand the others person view.
7. Health education, nursing care should be scientific.
8. Use safe technical skills and scientific nursing procedures.
9. Involve whole family members as much as possible during nursing care.
10. The nurse and family member must develop a positive interpersonal relationship
in their work to achieve present goals.
11. Evaluate your own work periodically.
12. Make a note of important facts about the home visit in your diary.
13. Thanks to the family members and individual for good response.

ADVANTAGE
> It helps to develop an interpersonal relationship between family members and the
nurses.
> Community health nurse assess the individual and family member in their own
environment.
> It gives an opportunity to observe the background of the family member and their
relationship.
> It helps in the basic understanding of physical and emotional needs of individual and
to guide them.
> It helps to gain more knowledge and become realistic as a family member are more
relaxed in their own surroundings.
> It also gives an opportunity to find out new health problems
Purposes

1. To find out needs of individual, family and community in relation to health, socio-
economic and cultural aspects.
2. To provide domiciliary midwifery as care for pregnant, delivery, and puerperal
mother and infant.
3. To give care to the sick, to a postpartum mother and her newborn with the view
teach a responsible family member to give subsequent care.
4. To assess the living condition of the patient and his family and their health
practices in order to provide the appropriate health teachings.
5. To provide basic health services for minor ailments. (i.e. injury, boils, abrasions)
6. To provide counselling on family planning, immunization, nutrition.
7. To give health teaching regarding the prevention and control of diseases.
8. To establish a close relationship between the nurses and the public for promotion
of health.
9. To make use of an inter-referral system and to promote the utilization of
community services.

References

 https://tr.scribd.com/document/233132586/Diagnostic-Exam-2
 https://ja.scribd.com/presentation/113589897/Community-Health-Nursing
 Tuitui, Roshani and S.N. Dr. Suwal. A Textbook of Community Health Nursing.
Kathmandu: Vidyarthi Prakashan(P) Ltd, 2067.
 fac.ksu.edu.sa/sites/default/files/home_visit.ppt
 nursestopicks.blogspot.com/

BAG TECHNIQUE

 The bag technique is a tool by which the nurse, during her visit will enable her to

perform a nursing procedure with ease and deftness, to save time and effort with the

end view of rendering effective nursing care to clients.

The public health bag is an essential and indispensable equipment of a public health

nurse which she has to carry along during her home visits. It contains basic medication

and articles which are necessary for giving care.

Principles

 Performing the bag technique will minimize, if not, prevent the spread of

any infection.

 It saves time and effort in the performance of nursing procedures.

 The bag technique can be performed in a variety of ways depending on the

agency’s policy, the home situation, or as long as principles of avoiding

transfer of infection is always observed.

Contents

The following are the contents of a Public Health Nurse bag:

 Paper lining

 Extra paper for making waste bag

 Plastic/linen lining

 Apron

 Hand towel

 Soap in a soap dish

 Thermometers ( digital )

 2 pairs of scissors (surgical and bandage)

 2 pairs of forceps (curved and straight)

 Disposable syringes with needles (g. 23 & 25)

 Hypodermic needles (g. 19, 22, 23, 25)

 Sterile dressing

 Cotton balls

 Cord clamp

 Micropore plaster

 Tape measure
 1 pair of sterile gloves

 Baby’s scale

 Solutions of:

o Betadine

o 70% alcohol

o Hydrogen peroxide

o Spirit of ammnonia

*BP apparatus and stethoscope are carried separately and are never placed in the bag.

Points to consider

1. The bag should contain all the necessary articles, supplies and equipment

that will be used to answer the emergency needs

2. The bag and its contents should be cleaned very often, the supplies replaced

and ready for use anytime.

3. The bag and its contents should be well protected from contact with any

article in the patient’s home.

4. Consider the bag and its contents clean and sterile, while articles that belong

to the patients as dirty and contaminated.

5. The arrangement of the contents of the bag should be the one most

convenient to the user, to facilitate efficiency and avoid confusion.

Steps

The following are steps in performing bag technique and rationale for each action:

Action Rationale

Upon arrival at the patient’s home, place the bag on the

To protect the bag from getting
table lined with a clean paper. The clean side must be
contaminated.
out and the folded part, touching the table

Ask for a basin of water or a glass of drinking water if

To be used for hand washing.
tap water is not available.

Open the bag and take out the towel and soap. To prepare for hand washing.

To prevent infection from the care

Wash hands using soap and water, wipe to dry.
provider to the client.

Take out the apron from the bag and put it on with the
To protect the nurse’s uniform.
right side

Put out all the necessary articles needed for the specific
To have them readily accessible
care.

Close the bag and put it in one corner of the working

To prevent contamination
area.

Proceed in performing the necessary nursing care To give comfort and security and
treatment. hasten recovery

After giving the treatment, clean all things that were To protect the caregiver and prevent
used and perform hand washing. infection
Action Rationale

Open the bag and return all things that were used in
their proper places after cleaning them.

Remove apron, folding it away from

Remove apron, folding it away from the person, the
the person, the soiled side in and the
soiled side in and the clean side out.
clean side out. Place it in the bag.

Fold the lining, place it inside the bag and close the bag

Take the record and have a talk with the mother. Write down all the necessary data that were
gathered, observations, nursing care and treatment rendered. Give instructions for care of
patients in the absence of the nurse.

Make appointment for the next visit (either home or

For follow-up care
clinic) taking note of the date and time.