The rising number of older people living with disabilities and chronic diseases has increased home care needs. Studies and reviews exploring preventive approaches have proliferated, creating a need for a synthesis of evidence. We conducted a systematic review of systematic reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive home visiting approaches for older people. Of the 5,973 citations identified in over 30 scientific and grey literature databases, 10 papers met all inclusion criteria. Systematic reviews were considered if they included controlled trials comparing interventions with and without professional home care. We found that interventions often included comprehensive geriatric assessments and follow-up visits. Results indicate that multidimensional preventive home visiting programs might have the potential to reduce mortality, in particular for younger subjects, and show a potential to improve functional autonomy, but these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the diversity of the interventions analysed.
