RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate acceptance of preventive home visits (PHVs) for older adults in rural Germany. DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive approach. SAMPLE: We investigated the personal, individual perspective of adults aged 65 to 85, who were not yet eligible for benefits from the long-term care insurance, were able to understand and speak German, and who lived in the municipality under study. MEASUREMENTS: Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted between 02/2019 and 08/2020. They were transcribed, coded using MAXQDA, and content analyzed. Ethical approval was obtained. RESULTS: The acceptance of PHVs was extremely high and characterized by five main effects: very close relationship with the nurse, well-being, empowerment, satisfaction, ambivalence. Participants wish to receive PHVs in the future and would recommend it to others. Even those with a healthy or health-promoting lifestyle are thankful to be able to refer to the counselling sessions if life circumstances should deteriorate. Those who became care-dependent wish to continue and perceive it as a valuable addition to their care. CONCLUSION: From the participants' point of view, this low-threshold counselling-and-support approach should be maintained in the future. PHVs can support health and independence in older adults and therefore prevent them from becoming care-dependent.