University of New Hampshire Scholars\u27 Repository
Abstract
In the summer of 2015, I spent nine weeks in the Netherlands conducting qualitative research on the Buurtzorg model, an award-winning home healthcare organization, whose name translates to “neighborhood care.” I focused my research on the Buurtzorg nurses’ perspectives on the characteristics of the model. I conducted informal interviews with seventeen nurses, accompanied more on their home visits, and attended team meetings in several cities and towns. I also visited the headquarters of Buurtzorg in Almelo, where I spoke with Jos de Blok, the co-founder of the Buurtzorg model. In my collected data, I found four common themes in how the nurses perceived their work and the organization. The model for home care presented by Buurtzorg offers possibilities for the U.S. to lower homecare costs and increase patient and nurse satisfaction
