Decision Support Framework for Home Health Caregiver Allocation: A Case Study of HHC Agency in Tennessee, USA

Population aging is a global challenge, leading to increased demand for healthcare and social services for the elderly. Home Health Care (HHC) emerges as a vital solution, specifically designed to serve this population segment. Given the surging demand for HHC, it's essential to coordinate and regulate caregiver allocation efficiently. This is crucial for both budget-optimized planning and ensuring the delivery of high-quality care. This research addresses a key question faced by home health agencies (HHAs): "How can caregiver allocation be optimized, especially when caregivers prefer flexibility in their visiting sequences?". While earlier studies proposed rigid visiting sequences, our study introduces a decision support framework that allocates caregivers through a hybrid method that considers the flexibility in visiting sequences and aims to reduce travel mileage, increase the number of visits per planning period, and maintain the continuity of care - a critical metric for patient satisfaction. Utilizing data from an HHA in Tennessee, United States, our approach led to an impressive reduction in average travel mileage (up to 42% depending on discipline) without imposing restrictions on caregivers. Furthermore, the proposed framework is used for caregivers' supply analysis to provide valuable insights into caregiver resource management.