When it comes to the most successful health practices available today, nothing quite beats the opportunities found in home care. Home health care services are receiving increasing attention as preferred alternatives to the institutionalized caregiving of hospitals.

Just what do the numbers have to say about in-home health care? While it's not as black and white as reading a blood pressure response, there are common advantages. For starters, we know that many patients are better able to recuperate when surrounded by a well-known environment. Someone who has always lived in a condo might be disoriented if moved out of that area. For whatever reason, people seem to prefer the privacy and the familiarity of their own homes to the sterile interior found in most health care facilities. Even the finest nursing homes that may resemble a luxury house can't seem to inculcate in residents the sense of security that their own dwelling will.

The peace of mind the familiar brings has been directly linked to the ability of patients and elderly people to increase their enjoyment of life even when struggling with an affliction or disease. In some cases, this peace of mind has actually led to an increased rate of recovery and longer life span. Home healthcare has also been directly linked to positive results in the home caregiver. Over two thirds of home healthcare providers stated that they came out of the experience as better people, even those who did not relish the thought of providing health care beforehand.

In many ways, care at home for the elderly or afflicted has similarities to using a live-in nanny over an established daycare. While institutions do provide professional care, human beings tend to thrive in the familiar and flexible environment that home represents. Thus, both home care patients and children tend to lead happier lives than their counterparts in group care. It is also easy to keep things consistent when someone is taken care of at home.

Home care is possibly the next step insofar as health care is concerned. All research points to the home as a preferable place for patients and people of all types over a setting specifically for health or care services.