TY - JOUR
T1 - Making a Bad Situation Worse
T2 - Examining the Challenges Facing Rural Home Care Workers
AU - Kallas, John
AU - Sterling, Madeline R.
AU - Ajayi, Olay
AU - Mulroy, Ethan
AU - Kuo, Elizabeth
AU - Ming, Joy
AU - Dell, Nicola
AU - Avgar, Ariel C.
N1 - We would like to thank the interviewees, including home care workers, agency representatives, and industry experts, who took time out of their busy schedules to speak with us. We also thank Bev Chin of the Tompkins County Long Term Care Committee and representatives of SEIU 1199 in upstate New York for connecting us with potential interviewees. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Cornell Center for Health Equity. This study was also supported in part by a generous donation from Douglas Wigdor, Esq.
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Cornell Center for Health Equity. This study was also supported in part by a generous donation from Douglas Wigdor, Esq.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - This study examines the unique challenges facing rural home care workers. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken between July 2021 and February 2022 with 23 participants that have experience in rural home care delivery. The major challenge confronting rural home care workers involved distance and transportation. This challenge emerged due to long distance between clients, unreliable vehicles, inadequate reimbursement, and inclement weather. In turn, this challenge exacerbated three other types of challenges facing rural home care workers: workforce challenges that consisted of a persistent labor shortage and shorter visits that forced workers to rush through tasks, client isolation due to the social and physical seclusion of households, and the poor working conditions of home care work more broadly. Without policy interventions that respond to these particular challenges, the care gap in rural areas can be expected to grow.
AB - This study examines the unique challenges facing rural home care workers. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken between July 2021 and February 2022 with 23 participants that have experience in rural home care delivery. The major challenge confronting rural home care workers involved distance and transportation. This challenge emerged due to long distance between clients, unreliable vehicles, inadequate reimbursement, and inclement weather. In turn, this challenge exacerbated three other types of challenges facing rural home care workers: workforce challenges that consisted of a persistent labor shortage and shorter visits that forced workers to rush through tasks, client isolation due to the social and physical seclusion of households, and the poor working conditions of home care work more broadly. Without policy interventions that respond to these particular challenges, the care gap in rural areas can be expected to grow.
KW - caregiving
KW - home and community based care and services
KW - home care
KW - rural
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85144185675&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85144185675&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/07334648221134793
DO - 10.1177/07334648221134793
M3 - Article
C2 - 36510645
AN - SCOPUS:85144185675
SN - 0733-4648
VL - 42
SP - 768
EP - 775
JO - Journal of Applied Gerontology
JF - Journal of Applied Gerontology
IS - 4
ER -