Abstract

This study describes the use of private home and nursing care agencies by CLSC home support services in an urban area of Québec. It describes the use of private agencies (PA) by the home support services (HSS) and its functioning, the characteristics of the PA used most frequently by HSS, as well as the management of the occupational health and safety of the staff of these agencies. The relationship between public services (contractor) and the private agencies that do the work are the central aspect of the study. It was therefore the focus of the data collection and preparation process: the viewpoints expressed are those of the people in charge of the CLSC’s HSS services and private agencies, considered as key informants. Furthermore, the authors deal in a distinct way with the home care and nursing care agencies because different problems are involved in their operation and their relationships with CLSCs. The report presents a synthesis of the main results of this investigation and the issues that emerged. However, these data cannot be generalized to all of Québec, due to an insufficient number of case studies in different regions.