[Analysis of pediatric home care services of the Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris].

BACKGROUND The Home Health Care services for children in Paris was recently established and it is interesting to analyse the first results of their activities. POPULATION AND METHODS A random sample (n = 157) of the 418 children admitted to home health care in the Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (HAD-P) in 1991 has been studied; only one episode of care was analyzed for each child. The data analysed included sociodemographic characteristics of the children, their clinical diagnosis and the care received. RESULTS More than half of the children presented chronic diseases. Follow-up of newborn children was the main reason for admitting children with acute conditions. Housing and socioeconomic conditions were poor for a significant number of children. A seasonal pattern was found, with higher activity in the beginning and in the end of the year. CONCLUSIONS More efforts are needed to develop complementarity between hospital-based and home health care services, beginning with improved communication of detailed information regarding home health care objectives and conditions.