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Briefing home care staff about older people's individual needs
- Author:
- SOCIAL POLICY RESEARCH UNIT
- Publisher:
- University of York. Social Policy Research Unit
- Publication year:
- 2000
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- York
Summarises the findings of a joint project by the Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) and Bradford Social Services Elderly Division which explored a method for keeping staff well briefed through documents, which complement Care Plans, kept in clients' homes for any visiting home care workers. The briefing documents were tested with 27 older home care clients in during two months in 1999. Results of the study found that home care assistants wanted the briefings used more widely, many wanting them for all home care clients.
Working with colleagues and other professionals when caring for people with dementia at the end of life: home care workers’ experiences
- Authors:
- MANTHORPE Jill, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Care and Caring, 3(4), 2019, pp.567-583.
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
Caring for people with dementia often necessitates inter-professional and inter-agency working but there is limited evidence of how home care staff work as a team and with professionals from different agencies. Through analysis of semi-structured interviews, the research explores the experiences of home care workers (n = 30) and managers of home care services (n = 13) in England (2016‐17). Both groups sought to collaboratively establish formal and informal practices of teamwork. Beyond the home care agency, experiences of interacting with the wider health and care workforce differed. More explicit encouragement of support for home care workers is needed by other professionals and their employers. (Edited publisher abstract)
“Time is more important than anything else”: tensions of time in the home care of older adults in Ireland
- Authors:
- MCDONALD Anne, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Care and Caring, 3(4), 2019, pp.501-515.
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
This article explores perceptions of time reported by service users, family carers, care workers, nurses, social workers and agency managers across home support services for older adults in Ireland. The findings are organised around: time spent waiting for care; time spent ‘processing’ care across primary and secondary care boundaries; time and person-centred care; and time, technology and communication. Time emerges as a problematic aspect of all processes and structures around formal home care, suggesting that addressing issues around time is central to resolving systemic challenges. Greater flexibility in time allocation and effective communication among stakeholders could improve experiences of care. (Publisher abstract)
Mental and behavioral health conditions among older adults: implications for the home care workforce
- Authors:
- GLEASON Hayley P., COYLE Caitlin E.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 20(8), 2016, pp.848-855.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: The shift towards home and community-based care, coupled with the growing prevalence of mental and behavioural health conditions, increases the demand for skilled home care workers. However, little is known about the experiences of home care aides who provide care to clients with mental and behavioural health diagnoses. The purpose of this study was to identify challenges aides face in providing care to this particular group of clients, as well as the strategies and support they utilise to complete their job responsibilities. Methods: Data from five focus groups with home care workers (N = 49) throughout Massachusetts were used to examine the experiences of home care workers providing services to adults with mental or behavioural health needs. A constant comparative method was used during analysis of the focus group transcripts. Results: Aides described a lack of prior-knowledge of challenging client behaviours, leaving them unprepared to deal with disruptions to care delivery. Aides feel unsafe or unsure providing care to someone with complex needs, made worse by a perceived lack of training and support from the broader care team. Aides develop unique strategies for accomplishing their work. Conclusion: This analysis of the aide's perspective contributes valuable, and often unheard, insight to inform what we know about providing reliable, quality and safe home care to this growing group of vulnerable adults. Implications of this convergence are discussed relative to aides. (Edited publisher abstract)
The role of healthcare support workers in providing palliative and end-of-life care in the community: a systematic literature review
- Authors:
- HERBER Oliver R., JOHNSTON Bridget M.
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 21(3), 2013, pp.225-235.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Despite the widespread use of Health Care Support Workers (HCSWs) in providing palliative and end-of-life care, there is little information available about their contributions towards supporting patients who want to be cared for at home or to die at home. Between January and April 2011, a systematic review was conducted to address two questions: (i) What particular tasks/roles do HCSWs perform when caring for people at the end of life and their families to comply with their desire to remain at home?; (ii) What are the challenges and supporting factors that influence HCSWs’ ability to provide palliative and end-of-life care in the community? Databases searched for relevant articles published between 1990 until April 2011 included CINAHL, EMBASE, PsychINFO, British Nursing Index, Web of Science, Medline and ASSIA. In total, 1695 papers were identified and their titles and abstracts were read. Ten papers met the eligibility criteria of the study. After the methodological quality of the studies was appraised, nine papers were included in the review. Judgements regarding eligibility and quality were undertaken independently by the authors. The findings indicate that HCSWs invest a great deal of their time on emotional and social support as well as on assisting in the provision of personal care. They are also involved in providing care for the dying, respite care for family members and offer domestic support. Although it is important to acknowledge the many positive aspects that HCSWs provide, the findings suggest three challenges in the HCSWs role: emotional attachment, role ambiguity and inadequate training. Support factors such as informal peer grief-support groups, sense of cohesiveness among HCSWs and task orientation enabled HCSWs to overcome these challenges. To conclude, induction and training programmes, a defined period of preceptorship, appropriate support, supervision and clearly defined role boundaries may be helpful in reducing the challenges identified in HCSWs’ roles. (Publisher abstract)
Carework as a form of bodywork
- Author:
- TWIGG Julia
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 20(4), July 2000, pp.389-411.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article argues for the importance of recognising carework as form of bodywork. It discusses why this central dimension has been neglected in accounts of carework, pointing to the ways in which community care has traditionally been analysed, the resistance of social gerontology to an overly bodily emphasis, and the conceptual dominance of the debate on care. Drawing on a study of the provision of help with bathing and washing for older people at home, it explores the body dimension of the activity, looking at how careworkers negotiate nakedness and touch, mange dirt and disgust, balance intimacy and distance. Finally, the paper draws together some of the key themes of this bodywork: its designation as 'dirty work', its hidden, silenced characters, the low occupational esteem in which it is held and its gendered nature.
Stress and strain among homecare workers of the frail elderly
- Authors:
- CANTOR Marjorie H., CHICHIN Eileen R
- Publisher:
- Fordham University. Brookdale Research Institute on Aging
- Publication year:
- 1990
- Pagination:
- 244p.,tables.
- Place of publication:
- New York
Looks at pressures on home helps and home care workers in the United States.
Bringing home care: a vision for reforming home care in Scotland
- Author:
- GATHERUM Becca
- Publisher:
- Scottish Care
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 40
- Place of publication:
- Ayr
This report looks at the care at home sector’s role in delivering preventative care, drawing on the results of a survey of organisations delivering home care and housing support services in Scotland. A total of 82 care home organisations responded to the survey, which explored workforce challenges, financial and operational sustainability and wider stakeholder relationships. The report looks at the changing role of the home care sector, with the move away from relationship-based care and the provision of publicly funded care narrowing to those with high level support needs. It then considers the impact of these change on the home care workforce and on the commissioning and sustainability of services. The report highlights the value of preventative home care and suggests key principles that should be at the heart of a new model of home care. The final section makes suggestions for the future development of home care services in Scotland in the areas of workforce, commissioning, and prevention. (Edited publisher abstract)
The Japanese voluntary sector’ s responses to the increasing unmet demand for home care from an ageing population
- Author:
- HAYASHI Mayumi
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 36(3), 2016, pp.508-533.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
As Japan faces the challenge of the increasing demand for home care from its ageing population in an era of economic constraints, the expectation has evolved that the voluntary sector will fill the shortfall in statutory provision through semi-volunteers providing affordable home care. Drawing on qualitative interviews with managers from 15 voluntary organisations, this article explores their experiences in trying to meet this expectation. Even though most organisations provided supplementary home-care services, the empirical evidence indicates a limited capacity to deliver this expectation, with respondents aware of the deteriorating situation. It has been ascertained that supply mechanisms differ between the traditional voluntary – and the new hybrid – organisations. The former employ ‘cost-efficient’ labour such as ‘paid volunteers’ on below minimum pay rates. In contrast, the ‘hybrids’ use paid employees at regular pay rates, a finding that contradicts optimistic assumptions about the ideological role of ‘traditional’ voluntary organisations. This article suggests the importance of acknowledging diverse responses from the voluntary sector, including the new hybrids with their acknowledgement of voluntary and commercial imperatives. Open mindedness and a preparedness to revise interpretations of the earlier ‘models’ of the voluntary sector are essential. The conclusion proposes that the best strategy to unlock the voluntary sector's full potential to deliver supplementary home care is a multi-platformed approach, with adequate public purse funding, which pragmatically maximises resources. (Publisher abstract)
Task shifting in the provision of home and social care in Ontario, Canada: implications for quality of care
- Authors:
- DENTON Margaret, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 23(5), 2015, pp.485-492.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Growing healthcare costs have caused home-care providers to look for more efficient use of healthcare resources. Task shifting is suggested as a strategy to reduce the costs of delivering home-care services. Task shifting refers to the delegation or transfer of tasks from regulated healthcare professionals to home-care workers (HCWs). The purpose of this paper is to explore the impacts of task shifting on the quality of care provided to older adults from the perspectives of home healthcare workers. This qualitative study was completed in collaboration with a large home and community care organisation in Ontario, Canada, in 2010–2011. Using a purposive sampling strategy, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 46 home healthcare workers including HCWs, home-care worker supervisors, nurses and therapists. Study participants reported that the most common skills transferred or delegated to HCWs were transfers, simple wound care, exercises, catheterisation, colostomies, compression stockings, G-tube feeding and continence care. A thematic analysis of the data revealed mixed opinions on the impacts of task shifting on the quality of care. HCWs and their supervisors, more often than nurses and therapists, felt that task shifting improved the quality of care through the provision of more consistent care; the development of trust-based relationships with clients; and because task shifting reduced the number of care providers entering the client's home. Nurses followed by therapists, as well as some supervisors and HCWs, expressed concerns that task shifting might compromise the quality of care because HCWs lacked the knowledge, training and education necessary for more complex tasks, and that scheduling problems might leave clients with inconsistent care once tasks are delegated or transferred. Policy implications for regulating bodies, employers, unions and educators are discussed. (Publisher abstract)