ORAHS2025
Abstract Submission

142. Multi-Objective Models for Efficient and Patient-Centered Home Healthcare Routing and Scheduling

Invited abstract in session MD-1: Home healthcare, stream Sessions.

Monday, 13:30-15:00
Room: NTNU, Realfagbygget R5

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Soumen Atta
Faculty of Information Technology, University of Jyväskylä
2. Michael Emmerich
Faculty of Information Technology, University of Jyväskylä
3. Vitor Basto-Fernandes
University Institute of Lisbon, ISTAR-IUL, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL)

Abstract

Home healthcare (HHC) plays a crucial role in enabling patients, particularly the elderly and chronically ill, to receive medical and personal care services at home. The efficient routing and scheduling of caregivers is essential to ensure service continuity, reduce operational costs, and enhance patient satisfaction. However, designing such schedules is highly complex due to multiple conflicting objectives, such as minimizing travel time and cost, balancing caregiver workload, satisfying time windows, respecting service durations, ensuring continuity of care, and incorporating patient preferences. Multi-objective optimization (MOO) models offer a powerful framework to address these challenges by simultaneously considering these competing goals. This study provides an overview of recent MOO models in HHC routing and scheduling, highlighting key modeling features, objectives, and real-world constraints. We also identify open research directions, including the incorporation of uncertainty, dynamic requests, interdependent services, sustainability, and personalized care. Such advancements can support healthcare providers in making better-informed and patient-centered scheduling decisions.

Keywords

Status: accepted


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