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Work Organization and Health Among Home Care Workers.

PB2012100252

Publication Date	2006
Personal Author	Muntaner, C.; Trinkoff, T.; Lipscomb, J.
Page Count	48
Abstract	The home care industry is the fastest growing industry in the United States. The number of elderly that will depend on long term care will double from about 7 to 14 million Americans by the year 2020. Many of these elders elect to stay at home and are able to avoid costly institutionalization when home care services are provided. Thus, the demand for a wide range of home care services has increased. Home care is defined as 'an array of services that enables clients incapacitated in whole or in part to live at home, often with the effect of delaying, or substituting for long term care or acute care alternatives'. Home care includes both technical health care (nursing and therapy) as well as support services (such as personal care, homemaking, housekeeping). About 1.2 million home care aides provide the bulk of home care services in the US, up from 875,000 in 1995, thus constituting the key health service resource for millions of elderly. Home care aides may experience multiple physical and emotional demands. These include lifting heavy patients in and out of bed or the bathtub without the support of lifting devices, attachment to ailing clients, bearing with the suffering of those who are very ill or near death, having to provide emotional support to lonely elderly clients who often suffer from mental disorders, and inability to provide emotional support to clients because of competing work demands. These work demands can result in workplace injuries (e.g. overexertion injuries from lifting, and psychiatric symptoms from emotional distress). The physical and emotional well being of home care clients is often dependent on the physical and mental health of home care aides.
Keywords	Home care services Health care personnel Elderly persons Home health aides Job stress Long term care Medical personnel Medical services Occupational safety and health Psychological effects Support services Work environment Workplace monitoring
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Corporate Authors	National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Atlanta, GA.; Maryland Univ. at Baltimore. School of Nursing.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Maryland Univ. at Baltimore. School of Nursing.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	201202

Work Organization and Health Among Home Care Workers.

Work Organization and Health Among Home Care Workers.
PB2012100252

Publication Date	2006
Personal Author	Muntaner, C.; Trinkoff, T.; Lipscomb, J.
Page Count	48
Abstract	The home care industry is the fastest growing industry in the United States. The number of elderly that will depend on long term care will double from about 7 to 14 million Americans by the year 2020. Many of these elders elect to stay at home and are able to avoid costly institutionalization when home care services are provided. Thus, the demand for a wide range of home care services has increased. Home care is defined as 'an array of services that enables clients incapacitated in whole or in part to live at home, often with the effect of delaying, or substituting for long term care or acute care alternatives'. Home care includes both technical health care (nursing and therapy) as well as support services (such as personal care, homemaking, housekeeping). About 1.2 million home care aides provide the bulk of home care services in the US, up from 875,000 in 1995, thus constituting the key health service resource for millions of elderly. Home care aides may experience multiple physical and emotional demands. These include lifting heavy patients in and out of bed or the bathtub without the support of lifting devices, attachment to ailing clients, bearing with the suffering of those who are very ill or near death, having to provide emotional support to lonely elderly clients who often suffer from mental disorders, and inability to provide emotional support to clients because of competing work demands. These work demands can result in workplace injuries (e.g. overexertion injuries from lifting, and psychiatric symptoms from emotional distress). The physical and emotional well being of home care clients is often dependent on the physical and mental health of home care aides.
Keywords	Home care services Health care personnel Elderly persons Home health aides Job stress Long term care Medical personnel Medical services Occupational safety and health Psychological effects Support services Work environment Workplace monitoring
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Corporate Authors	National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Atlanta, GA.; Maryland Univ. at Baltimore. School of Nursing.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Maryland Univ. at Baltimore. School of Nursing.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	201202