Definitions of Words Used in Home Care

Behavior

The manner in which a person acts or reacts to other people or situations.

Cognition

The mental process by which knowledge is learned through attention, concentration, memory, information processing, performance speed, abstract problem solving, and judgment.

Community-Based Programs

Programs which are located in a community environment, as opposed to an institutional setting.

Children with Special Health Care Needs

Children with chronic medical conditions and/or acquired disabilities which have a significant impact on home and school life and require ongoing services from professionals.

Chronic Care

Long-term care for children who require medical care; a maintenance program to prevent deterioration of skills and to provide recreational and social opportunities in a structured environment. Emphasis is on sustaining a reasonable quality of life.

Chronic Condition Management

Care given by a primary care physician and his office staff who acknowledge that children with chronic conditions and their families may require more than the usual well-child preventive care and treatment of normal childhood illnesses. A physician dedicated to chronic condition management sets up his practice to meet the special needs of these children.

Diagnosis

The name of the disease or condition a child has or is believed to have. The value of establishing a diagnosis is to provide a logical basis for treatment.

Durable Medical Equipment

Home care equipment that can be used over and over again. Examples are hospital beds, ventilators, IV poles, wheelchairs, and walkers.

Emergency Medical Service (EMS)

General term used for ambulance or rescue squad.

Home Health Care

Includes a wide range of physician-directed services, including nursing care and respiratory, physical, and occupational therapy, which are provided at home because the child is considered "home-bound". Home health care helps a child maintain health and minimize the effects of disability or illness.

In-Patient Rehabilitation

The child resides in the rehabilitation facility while receiving treatment.

Metacognition

The extent to which an individual accurately judges one's own strengths and limitations, particularly with regard to cognitive skills.

Out-Patient Rehabilitation

The child resides outside the rehabilitation facility but returns on a regular basis for one or more therapeutic services.

Primary Care Provider

A physician or nurse practitioner who practices in the primary care fields of family medicine, general internal medicine, or general pediatrics. A primary care provider address the large majority of an individual's health care needs, develops a sustained relationship with the patient, and practices in the context of family and community. Primary care is often practiced in an out-patient setting.

Respite Care

A program or plan designed to provide time-limited relief to the family or other primary caregiver from the ongoing responsibilities of care-giving.