Research, Reports, and Insights on Home & Community Care.

To learn more about the research or report, simply click on its title to access details such as the author, publication date, description, and a direct link to access the resource.

Reports/White Papers/National Strategy Documents

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A Home Care Model for Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities in Ontario

April 1, 2024
This report explores how we might make use of the natural densities of NORCs to provide home care that's client-centred, efficient and better for workers.

Spotlight Report: 5 Year Retrospective (2019-2023)

December 1, 2023
This year marks the fifth anniversary of OCO’s Spotlight Report. For the first time, the report provides a retrospective look at the caregiving experience today, compared to 2019. The question we considered was how have factors such as COVID-19, our aging population, the health human resource crisis, and the economic downturn influenced the caregiving experience over the last five years?

The Case for Meals on Wheels: An Evidence-Based Solution to Senior Hunger and Isolation

September 1, 2023
This comprehensive research review highlights a set of meaningful and consistent findings regarding the impacts of Meals on Wheels programs. These findings underscore the critical contributions of home-delivered meals in improving the health, safety and social connections of individuals’ lives promoting well-being and fostering independent living.

Technology and Aging at Home - The future of aging in place

August 1, 2023
As older adults looking to age in place continue to increase their use of technology, there is both a need and opportunity to do more than simply place technologies into a home.

Rapid Synthesis: Examining Care Coordination in the Home- and Community-Care Sector

April 1, 2023
This rapid synthesis provides a detailed look at the evidence on care coordination in the home- and community-care sector (i.e., optimal target populations) and frameworks available to inform the development of new models of care.
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Peer Reviewed Research

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Sustaining a Workforce: Reflections on Work from Home and Community Care Nurses Transitioning out of the COVID-19 Pandemic

August 1, 2024
The aim of this study was to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped the working experiences, motivations, and attitudes of home and community care nurses in the Greater Toronto Area.

Integrated Health and Social Home Care Services in Catalonia: Professionals' Perception of its Implementation, Barriers, and Facilitators

April 26, 2024
This study aimed to assess the implementation of integrated social and health home care services (HCS) offered by the Government of Catalonia, and to identify the main barriers and facilitators of integrated HCS.

Interprofessional Teams Supporting Care Transitions from Hospital to Community: A Scoping Review

April 1, 2024
This scoping review identifies and maps peer-reviewed literature on how interprofessional teams are working together to support older adults transitioning from hospital back to the community.

Shifting the Safety Culture: Evaluation of a Novel Approach to Understanding and Responding to Workplace Harassment and Violence Experienced by Homecare Workers

March 1, 2024
Throughout health care, workplace violence and harassment are too often perceived as “part of the job” and not worth reporting. This pilot presents a template and tools designed to promote a culture of reporting.

The effects of occupational and mental stress among home care rehabilitation professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic: An exploratory qualitative study

January 30, 2024
With a focus on the effects of COVID-19 on the practice of home care, this study provides a unique perspective on the challenges experienced by home care rehabilitation professionals during an emergent and evolving global public health concern.
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Scoping Review and Meta Analysis

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Teamwork in home care nursing: A scoping literature review

July 4, 2022
Teamwork in home care nursing is a limited research field, constituted of studies within a broad scope. The methods used are predominantly qualitative with a single-data collection method.

Examining Intersections Between Ontario Health Teams and Home and Community Care

April 8, 2022
This paper examines intersections between Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) and Home and Community Care to manage changes in volume and equity considerations. It seeks to understand learning opportunities from organizations similar to OHTs that have contracted with home and community care providers.

Aging in Place Among Older Adults With Histories of Traumatic Experiences: A Scoping Review

January 14, 2022
This scoping review found 32 articles that in some way bridged aging in place and trauma.

Understanding transitional care programs for older adults who experience delayed discharge: a scoping review

March 29, 2021
Many hospitalized older adults cannot be discharged because they lack the health and social support to meet their post-acute care needs. Transitional care programs (TCPs) are designed to provide short-term and low-intensity restorative care to these older adults experiencing or at risk for delayed discharge.

Hospital at home: home-based end-of-life care

March 2, 2021
The evidence included in this review supports the use of home-based end-of-life care programmes for increasing the number of people who will die at home. Research that assesses the impact of home‐based end-of-life care on caregivers and admissions to hospital would be a useful addition to the evidence base, and might inform the delivery of these services.
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Recorded Webinars

Breaking the Silence: Addressing Under-Reporting of Harassment and Violence in Community Care

September 20, 2023

Harassment and violence are under-reported in healthcare and often considered 'part of the job'. Care providers who work in the community with limited information about clients are at heightened risk for workplace violence and harassment.


Dr. Emily King, Manager of Research at VHA Home HealthCare, shares research that reveals key reasons for under-reporting and the intervention program that VHA developed to better support their front-line staff.

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Enhanced Community Care @ Home: Addressing the ALC Crisis with West Neighbourhood House

February 21, 2023

Discover how West Neighbourhood House (West NH) has reimagined their services to successfully transition ALC patients from hospital to home.


Learn how West NH manages care coordination across multiple health providers, uses remote care technology to maximize PSW capacity, and navigates new partnerships with hospital and primary care. Hear from West NH senior management and front-line program staff as they share the lessons learned and their perspectives on the successes and challenges of this innovative new program. 

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