Home care practice behavior and its influencing factors of primary care providers: a multicenter cross-sectional study in Sichuan Province, China

Background Primary care providers play an important role in home health care, and their practice behavior is significant for care quality and patient outcomes. This study aimed to assess the home care practice behavior of Chinese primary care providers and to explore the factors associated with the practice behavior.Methods A multicenter cross-sectional design with a convenience sample was used to survey 863 registered primary care providers from 62 primary health care settings in Sichuan Province, China. Descriptive statistics, t-test or ANOVA for one-way analysis, and Pearson's correlation analyses were used to compare the differences and examine the relationships between participants' demographics and experience of home care services and practice behavior. Multiple linear regression models were performed to identify salient variables associated with the practice behavior from among demographic and home care experience.Results The score of home care practice behavior questionnaire was 97.25 +/- 21.05. The average scores for the dimensions of home visit preparation, assessment, medical care behavior and safety practice were 3.70 +/- 0.95, 3.76 +/- 1.02, 3.66 +/- 1.03, and 3.20 +/- 0.46, respectively. Home care practice behavior was associated with working years, working experience in general hospitals, work area, home care experience such as client types of home care, service frequency and willingness, explaining 21.5% of the total variance.Conclusion Chinese primary care providers had a medium to high level of home care practice behavior but poor implementation of safety practice. The results may provide clues to increased focus and implementation of safety practice, as well as providing targeted measures based on influencing factors.