title: Expanding the consumer-directed workforce by attracting and retaining unaffiliated workers.
abstract: Unaffiliated workers are directly hired personal assistance workers who are not employed through an agency and are not family members or close friends. This article examines the working conditions of unaffiliated workers in a consumer-directed setting in comparison to agency workers and to other consumer-directed workers. Unaffiliated workers earned higher wages than their peers but were less satisfied with these wages and benefits than other directly hired workers. Findings for consumer-directed programs are discussed in terms of the recruitment and retention of unaffiliated workers, implications for consumers and workers, and future research recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services Administration and the Center on Aging, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. LASR@umd.edu
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Simon-Rusinowitz
authors.forename: Dawn M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Loughlin
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.forename: Genevieve
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martinez Garcia
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ruben
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology / Q000600:supply & distribution* / Q000639:trends; D003256:Community Participation; D004651:Employment / Q000639:trends; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000639:trends; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D010358:Patient Participation; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D000078329:Workforce