Politics, health policy, and the American character.
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Attitude of Health Personnel↗
Biomedical subjects
A E Benjamin
Publications and source records attributed to A E Benjamin.
"Intent to stay" among paid home care workers in California.
The continuing shortage of entry-level healthcare workers highlights the need to understand worker retention and turnover. This study focuses on intent to stay among 618 paid home care workers in California, half from agencies, and half employed under a consumer-directed model that includes both relatives and non-relatives of the client. Most workers (63.3%) report that they will very likely be working as a caregiver in 12 months, but more family than non-family caregivers say so. Being related to the client, and having fewer clients, more training, more job satisfaction, and hopes for a raise, all predict intent to stay. However, when we analyze family caregivers separately, there are no significant predictors of intent to stay.
Aged↗
Factors influencing health promoting activities of mothers caring for ventilator-assisted children.
The extensive care a ventilator-assisted child (VAC) requires when cared for in the home can impact the mother's ability to participate in health promotion activities. The purpose of this study was to examine health promotion activities and the relationships among functional status of the child, impact of the illness on the family, coping, social support, and health promotion activities of mothers who care for ventilator-assisted children at home. Thirty-eight primary female caregivers, mostly mothers, participated in the study and completed the Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire (PLQ), measures of child's functional status, impact of the illness on the family, coping, social support, and demographic data. Findings revealed that the mothers scored low on the nutrition, exercise, relaxation, and general health promotion subscales of the PLQ. Functional status of the child and coping were positively correlated with participation in health promotion activities, whereas impact of the child's illness on the family was inversely related to health promotion of the mothers. Regression analysis revealed that functional status of the child and coping were significant predictors of mothers' participation in health promotion activities. The high demands associated with caring for a VAC with poor functioning can be a significant risk factor for not participating in health promotion activities. Nurses need to help mothers with coping and finding resources to help mediate the stress related to caring for their child, thereby helping the mothers to maintain their own health.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Work-life differences and outcomes for agency and consumer-directed home-care workers.
PURPOSE: Research on home-care outcomes has highlighted the promise of consumer-directed models that rely on recipients rather than agencies to arrange and direct services. However, there has been little research on workers employed directly by recipients. This study examined differences in work-life and worker outcomes between workers in consumer-directed versus agency care as well as between family and nonfamily workers. DESIGN AND METHODS: A random sample of 618 workers in the In-Home Supportive Services program in California was selected and interviewed by telephone between September 1996 and March 1997. Interviews were conducted in English, Spanish, and three Asian languages, with a focus on worker stress and satisfaction. RESULTS: Findings indicate a mixed portrait of worker experience and outcomes. Most model differences disappear when other variables are controlled, but some worker-stress differences persist between models and types of worker. IMPLICATIONS: On most dimensions of stress and satisfaction, consumer-directed workers report outcomes equal to or more positive than agency workers. Efforts to improve the work life of home-care workers should acknowledge the strengths of consumer-directed approaches and target all workers across models.
Adolescent↗
Abuse and neglect of clients in agency-based and consumer-directed home care.
Because a growing number of Americans receive long-term care at home, social workers face new challenges in referring clients to either agency-based or consumer-directed care models. Traditional agency-based home care often is considered safer for disabled clients because workers are professionally trained and monitored; newer, client-directed home care models offer more autonomy and flexibility. This study examined differences in worker abuse and neglect of clients across agency and consumer-directed models. Analyses showed that family ties, race or ethnicity, social supports, language compatibility, and provider turnover were more relevant than model of care to understanding worker abuse and neglect of clients. These findings suggest that clients in consumer-directed models are at no higher risk than agency clients. Implications are considered for social work practicitioners.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Age, consumer direction, and outcomes of supportive services at home.
PURPOSE: Supportive services at home are essential for older people with severe chronic impairments. Newer "consumer-directed" models of organizing home-based services rely heavily on service recipients rather than home care agencies to arrange and direct care at home. This study examined differences in service experience and outcomes between recipients over and under age 65 who direct their own services in one large Medicaid program. DESIGN AND METHODS: A random sample of 1,095 recipients of In-Home Supportive Services in California was selected and interviewed by telephone. Interviews were conducted in English, Spanish, and three Asian languages; those with severe cognitive impairment were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Findings indicate that although younger recipients embrace self-direction more enthusiastically than older ones, age differences are small on a majority of service outcomes. On average, older users embrace this model and manage within it much like younger users. Some differences emerge between the young-old (65-74) and old-old (75+), but these are neither consistent nor determinative. IMPLICATIONS: Old age is far from an inevitable barrier to self-direction. As with other age groups, there are opportunities and obstacles to be addressed as this newer approach to home care is disseminated.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Comparing consumer-directed and agency models for providing supportive services at home.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the service experiences and outcomes of low-income Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities under two different models for organizing home-based personal assistance services: agency-directed and consumer-directed. DATA SOURCE: A survey of a random sample of 1,095 clients, age 18 and over, who receive services in California's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program funded primarily by Medicaid. Other data were obtained from the California Management and Payrolling System (CMIPS). STUDY DESIGN: The sample was stratified by service model (agency-directed or consumer-directed), client age (over or under age 65), and severity. Data were collected on client demographics, condition/functional status, and supportive service experience. Outcome measures were developed in three areas: safety, unmet need, and service satisfaction. Factor analysis was used to reduce multiple outcome measures to nine dimensions. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the effect of service model on each outcome dimension, taking into account the client-provider relationship, client demographics, and case mix. DATA COLLECTION: Recipients of IHSS services as of mid-1996 were interviewed by telephone. The survey was conducted in late 1996 and early 1997. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: On various outcomes, recipients in the consumer-directed model report more positive outcomes than those in the agency model, or they report no difference. Statistically significant differences emerge on recipient safety, unmet needs, and service satisfaction. A family member present as a paid provider is also associated with more positive reported outcomes within the consumer-directed model, but model differences persist even when this is taken into account. Although both models have strengths and weaknesses, from a recipient perspective the consumer-directed model is associated with more positive outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Although health professionals have expressed concerns about the capacity of consumer direction to assure quality, particularly with respect to safety, meeting unmet needs, and technical quality, our findings suggest that the consumer-directed service model is a viable alternative to the agency model. Because public programs are under growing pressure to address the long-term care needs of low-income people of all ages with disabilities, the Medicaid personal assistance benefit needs to be reassessed in light of these findings. Consumer-directed models may offer a less elaborate and possibly less costly option for organizing supportive services at home. Study limitations may limit the generalizability of these findings. This was a natural experiment, in which only some counties offered both service models and counties assigned recipients to a service model. The use of a telephone survey excluded important recipient subsets, notably people with severe cognitive impairments. A more definitive study would include direct observations as well as survey approaches.
Aged↗
California immigrants have mostly lower rates of disability and use of disability services than state's U.S.-born residents.
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Activities of Daily Living↗
A normative analysis of home care goals.
Home- and community-based services (HCBS) can contribute to full social and economic participation in society by people with disabilities. Of 16 client-level and system-level HCBS goals, three are emphasized; targeting the neediest, individual choice, and strengthening informal systems. Projections are made of how selected goals would play out under two different resource conditions. Efforts to expand and strengthen HCBS involve trade-offs--for example, increasing access and comprehensiveness undermines affordability, increased targeting to the neediest means less access for those below the need threshold, and expanding client choice raises fears about trade-offs with quality and effectiveness. Targeting and choice seem to represent central and compatible goals for the design of an HCBS system. The combination minimizes trade-offs with affordability and enhances political feasibility.
Community Health Services↗
Use of covered services in Medicare home health care.
Using data on 295 patients entering Medicare home health care at discharge from Medicare hospital stays, we explain receipt of Medicare home health nursing, PT and OT visits, and length of stay. Care reflected need, but other factors also affected service allocation. Medicare program requirements, as well as variation in provider structure and case load, appear to introduce inequities. Critical in light of recurrent proposals to change Medicare coverage and benefits, findings underline the need to reconsider Medicare home health policies that lead to denial of needed services, inequitable allocation of benefits, and premature termination of care.
Aged↗
The posthospital experience of elderly Medicare home health users.
This study describes the home health experience of 295 Medicare elderly persons following hospitalization. While a subset of persons improved medically and functionally during the home health service period, some declined on one or both dimensions and many showed not change. The most heavily utilized, non-Medicare, services were personal care and homemaker/chore, reflecting the functional needs of some posthospital elderly. One-fifth of Medicare home health users were reinstitutionalized or died during the service period. Those discharged to home had a range of continuing service needs, both medical and functional, after home health discharge.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Nursing home queues and home health users.
Home health market growth suggests the need for models explaining home health utilization. We have previously explained state-level Medicare home health visits with reference to nursing home markets. Here we introduce a model whereby state-level Medicare home health use is a function of nursing home queues and other demand and supply factors. Medicare home health users per state population is negatively related to nursing home bed stock, positively to Medicaid eligibility levels and to Medicaid nursing home recipients per population, as well as to various other demand and supply measures. This explanation of home health users explains previously-reported findings for home health visits. The findings support the argument that home health use is explained by factors affecting lengths of nursing home queues.
Health Services Needs and Demand↗
IV drug use, dementia, and nursing home care for PWAs (persons with AIDS).
Despite the usual focus on daily costs, because PWAs have higher costs per day than other SNF residents, LOS and days of care are important cost indices. Data on LOS for 102 admissions and annual days of care for 90 PWAs show average 64-day LOS and 67 days of care. Regression analysis and survival analysis show dementias and IV drug use to mean longer LOS and more days of care. Higher PWA costs must be sustained over longer periods for PWAs with dementias and for IV drug users, who may claim increasing shares of the SNF care provided to PWAs.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
An historical perspective on home care policy.
Although home care has received increased policy attention in recent years, the health services literature does not offer a historical perspective. The way home care is viewed and the nature of its support have changed significantly, yet history also suggests continuity. The era of modern medicine has relegated the status of home care to that of a residual set of follow-up services and there has been a lack of consensus about the goals of home care. For about 75 years, the legitimacy of home care has depended upon claims that it would relieve utilization and costs of institutional care, which has served both to maintain its policy salience and to undermine its legitimacy. Profound demographic and fiscal changes have increased the demand for home care, especially among the chronically ill, but various issues remain unresolved.
Attitude of Health Personnel↗
Skilled nursing facility care for persons with AIDS: comparison with other patients.
We compared average daily hours of care for patients with and without acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in a hospital-based skilled nursing facility. Patients with AIDS averaged over an hour more direct nursing care per patient day (6.5 vs 5.4 hours). These findings support other reports of greater nursing time and higher costs of caring for nursing home patients with AIDS.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Intergenerational equity and public spending.
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Age Factors↗
Medicare home health utilization as a function of nursing home market factors.
Rapid increases in the size and costs of the home health market, unknown impacts of Medicare's DRG hospital reimbursement on the posthospital market, and general lack of knowledge about factors that explain interstate variation in home health utilization all suggest the importance of developing and testing models of Medicare home health use. This article proposes and tests a model of state home health utilization as a function of the nursing home market. This model proposes that home health utilization is a function of nursing home bed capacity, of the utilization of nursing home beds by Medicaid patients, of other demand factors, and of supply factors. This model is supported by the data. Specifically, Medicare home health use in the 1978-1984 period was found to be negatively related to nursing home bed stock, positively related to Medicaid nursing home utilization, and related to several other supply and demand factors, as hypothesized by the model. The further model assumption that home health utilization does not affect the nursing home market could not be tested in this analysis, but will be addressed in future research by the authors.
Aged↗
Perspectives on a continuum of care for persons with HIV illnesses.
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Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗