Home and Community Care

Health Canada works with First Nations and Inuit communities in developing comprehensive home and community care services that respect traditional, holistic and contemporary approaches to healing and wellness.

These services assist people who have chronic and acute illnesses receive the care they need in their home or community. Care provided in these familiar settings allows First Nations people and Inuit to be close to their loved ones as long as possible and to keep their independence.

Home and community care may include nursing care, personal care such as bathing and foot care, home support such as meal preparation, and in-home respite care, that is, caring for someone while family members have a rest.

For more information on home and community care services, refer to Health Canada's Home and Community Care Program.

Home and Community Care Resources

The following resources are provided to assist communities in the management and delivery of home and community care services:

The First Nations and Inuit Home and Community Care Quality Resource Kit (QRK) is intended to assist home care programs to implement a quality improvement process.  The QRK is designed to be a practical, relevant, and useful resource that improves the quality of care provided to home and community care clients.

The Planning Resource Kit will guide you in the planning, designing and delivery of home and community care services that respond to the unique needs of First Nations and Inuit communities in a relevant and meaningful way.

The Standards Template Manual and the Policies Template Manual provide examples and templates, on which local communities can build their own standards and policies manuals.

• The manuals are intended to be used as tools to support the development of customized standards and policies to address the specific needs of each community.
• They do not reflect mandatory practice. Instead the manuals are building blocks or a starting point that communities can use to help them in the process of creating their own tools for their individual programs and community needs.

The Evaluation Guide is a valuable reference for First Nations and Inuit communities evaluating the First Nations and Inuit and Home and Community Care Program. The guide describes the purpose and the key elements of an evaluation. It will give you practical tools that you can use to conduct an evaluation.

The Home and Community Care Nursing Handbook is a tool designed to assist First Nations and Inuit communities in promoting the effective and safe practice of home care nursing. It also provides information with respect to the recruitment and employment of nurses. This handbook is intended for:

• Administrators and managers of community/tribal/regional First Nations and Inuit health organizations and authorities; and
• Home and community care nurses employed or contracted by these organizations to provide nursing services within their respective communities.

The Continuing Care in First Nations and Inuit Communities: Evidence from the Research fact sheet describes a research project done to gain a better understanding of existing home and facility based continuing care services as well as the needs and preferences for services. This fact sheet is intended to inform First Nations and Inuit communities and the interested public across Canada on the findings of the research.

The research was conducted in parts by a number of partner organizations. Two of these, having been conducted under contract to Health Canada, are posted here. A report entitled An Examination of Continuing Care Requirements in Inuit Communities, is the findings of work done in Inuit communities in Northern Quebec and Review of Literature and National Health Data Sources examines relevant literature and databases. Other parts of the project, including the full synthesis report, will be posted on the website of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission.

External Links

The following external links are designed to provide information on home care issues of interest to all Canadians, including the general public, home care providers and clients, health care and social service providers, professional organizations, researchers, and policy makers.

Aboriginal Miscellaneous
 Aboriginal Canada Portal
 Canadian Health Network Aboriginal Peoples
 Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment
 Traditional Food, Health and Nutrition
 Aboriginal Healing Foundation

Aboriginal Organizations
 National Aboriginal Health Organization
 Assembly of First Nations Health and Social Secretariat
 Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
 Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
 Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association

Education
 First Nations and Inuit Health Information System

Federal Governments
 Canadian Heritage
 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
 United States Department of Health and Human Services
First Peoples on SchoolNet Health Section - Industry Canada
 United States Department of Health and Human Services - Indian Health Services

Health
2003 First Ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal
 Healthfinder

Health and Medical Organizations
 Canadian Virtual Hospice
 Canadian Public Health Association
 Canadian Paediatric Society
 American Academy of Pediatrics
 Institute for Aboriginal Health - University of British Columbia
 Institute of Aboriginal People's Health
 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Nursing
 Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada

Traditional Healing Site
 Turtle Island Native Network Healing and Wellness

Universities
 The School of Native Studies - University of Alberta
 Department of Native Studies - University of Saskatchewan