RESEARCH ARTICLE a o

Home care in Canada costs $3.4 billion annually, [2] and approximately 80 % of home care clients are 65 years of age or older [3]. In the US, home care costs in 2010 were in excess of $70 billion [4], and similar to Canada, conditions. Home care services will have to function both efficiently and effectively to provide optimal ser-vices to the greatest number of clients. In order to achieve this goal, quality of care should be continually assessed in order to support ongoing continuous quality improvement. However, in Canada, little is currently known about home care clients or the quality of care * Correspondence: dguthrie@wlu.cahome care has been observed in Canada within the lastBackground: Home care is becoming an increasingly vital sector in the health care system yet very little is known about the characteristics of home care clients and the quality of care provided in Canada. We describe these clients and evaluate home care quality indicator rates in two regions. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of assessments completed for older (age 65+) home care clients in bot