title: Supporting home care aides: what employers can do to assist their workers.
abstract: The demand for personal care workers in home-based care is expected to double with the aging of the baby boomer population at the same time that home care agencies struggle with high rates of turnover. This article examines the job experience of 171 home care aides who remained on the job over 18 months of data collection in the longitudinal home care worker retention study. The three groups of themes that emerged from the analysis of telephone interviews with study participants-challenges of the job, compensating strategies, and potential employer interventions-provide insight on how to offer support to these valuable workers.
authors.affiliation: Sandra S. Butler, PhD, MSW, is a Professor and the MSW Coordinator, University of Maine, Orono, Maine. Noell Rowan, MSW, PhD, LCSW, CADC, ACSW, is an Associate Professor and the BSW Coordinator, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Sandra S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.forename: Noell
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rowan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D018576:Home Health Aides; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D012944:Social Support; D000078329:Workforce