Home alone : the experiences of home support workers in a climate of health care reform

• Main Author: Aitken, Jennifer Allison
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/7857

The transition from institutional to home based health care relies heavily on the caring work of Home Support Workers (HSWs). Despite the importance of their labor, HSWs are under paid, under valued and misunderstood. Policy guiding home based care does little to alleviate this paradox. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to improve understanding about the ways home care policy impacts the caring experience. The question posed is, What are the experiences of Home Support Workers providing care to cognitively impaired elderly people in the community? A feminist approach is applied in this qualitative study. Unstructured, interviews conducted with a sample of three HSWs where succeeded by a focus group of leaders in the home support industry. Findings reveal an emotional component to their caring work which is hidden and unrecognized. A model for integrating HSWs into the interdisciplinary care team is proposed. Limitations of the study and future research are discussed. The timeliness of this topic, and the critical inequities inherent in the home support industry makes this study particularly relevant to social work.