Program Area: Behavioral and Social Sciences

The Health of the Direct Care Workforce: Evidence and Implications Across Long-Term Care

Chair(s)

• 

  Kezia Scales, PhD

  Senior Director of Policy Research
  Policy
  PHI
  Bronx, New York, United States

Discussant(s)

• 

  Kezia Scales, PhD

  Senior Director of Policy Research
  Policy
  PHI
  Bronx, New York, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• 

  Stephen McCall, MPA

  Long-Term Care Senior Analyst
  Policy
  Altarum
  Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States
• MS

  Madeline Sterling, MD, MPH, MS

  Assistant Professor of Medicine
  Medicine
  Weill Cornell Medicine
  New York City, New York, United States
• SL

  Soo-Jeong Lee, PhD, RN, FAAOHN

  Associate Professor
  Department of Community Health Systems
  University of California, San Francisco
  San Francisco, California, United States
• 

  Margaret Quinn, ScD, CIH

  Professor Emeritus, & Director, Safe Home Care Project
  Safe Home Care Project, Department of Public Health
  University of Massachusetts Lowell/College of Health Sciences
  Lowell, Massachusetts, United States

Direct care workers play a key role in supporting the health and wellbeing of older adults and people with disabilities across care settings—yet their own health risks are largely overlooked. The four papers in this symposium address this critical knowledge gap. First, McCall and colleagues will present a comparative analysis of the health status, health insurance coverage, and healthcare experiences of direct care workers across long-term care using National Health Interview Survey data. Next, Lee et al. will present the trends and characteristics of occupational injuries and illnesses among California’s long-term care workers from 2019 to 2020 using California Workers’ Compensation data, assessing the impact of COVID-19 on their occupational health. Sterling will characterize the physical and mental health of the direct care workforce before and during COVID-19 using data from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, as well as drawing on qualitative and survey-based studies of unionized, agency-employed home care workers in New York. Sterling will also present findings from a pilot feasibility study of an intervention aimed at improving home care workers’ well-being. Finally, Quinn et al. will synthesize findings on home care workers’ occupational hazards—including needlesticks, musculoskeletal strain, violence and infections—and examine how preventing these risks can improve safety for both workers and clients. The discussant will draw out themes and implications from across these complementary studies, highlighting the importance of safeguarding direct care workers’ health as a key step toward improving care quality and outcomes for older adults and people with disabilities.

Presentations:

• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

  Caring for Caregivers: Health and Healthcare Experiences of Direct Care Workers
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Stephen McCall, MPA – Altarum
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

  The Physical and Mental Health of Home Healthcare Workers: What Do We Know and What Can We Do About It?
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Madeline Sterling, MD, MPH, MS – Weill Cornell Medicine
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

  Impact of COVID-19 on Occupational Injury Among Long-Term Care Workers in California
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Soo-Jeong Lee, PhD, RN, FAAOHN – University of California, San Francisco
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

  Healthy Aging in Place Requires a Healthy Home Care Workforce: The Safety and Health of Paid Caregivers
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Margaret M. Quinn, ScD, CIH – University of Massachusetts Lowell/College of Health Sciences