Role divergence and complexity in gerontological home care.
This study documents high levels of role complexity and functional overlap in the field of home health care. Personnel perform a wide range of "professional/organizational" and "community/familial" service functions though the emphasis is on the delivery of a battery of pseudo family-like tasks. The importance of a familial orientation does not significantly decline when controlling for length of employment or organizational rationality. Role orientation is, however, significantly associated with a worker's chronological age. Results lead to program planning recommendations meant to influence staff training paradigms in home health care.
D000368:Aged; D005853:Geriatrics; D006699:Home Care Services; D006704:Homemaker Services; D006801:Humans; D009726:Nurses; D011364:Professional Practice; D012380:Role; D012947:Social Work; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce