To care for them, we need to take care of ourselves: A qualitative study on the health of home health aides.

Objective: To understand the perspectives of home health aides (HHAs) toward their own health and health behaviors, and how their job impacts both.

Data Sources And Study Setting: Interviews were conducted with 28 HHAs from 16 unique home care agencies from August 2021 to January 2022. The study was conducted in partnership with the 1199SEIU Training and Employment Fund, a labor-management fund of the largest health care union in the US.

Does Connectedness Matter? The Association Between Mutuality and Job Satisfaction Among Home Health Aides Caring for Adults With Heart Failure.

Home health aides (HHAs) provide care to many adults with heart failure (HF) in the home. As the demand for HHAs increases, there is a need to promote HHAs' job satisfaction and retention. In this cross-sectional community-partnered study, we examined whether mutuality (e.

The Prevalence and Potential Role of Pain Beliefs When Managing Later-Life Pain.

Objectives: In this study of 154 community-dwelling older adults with chronic noncancer pain, we sought to assess participants' beliefs about pain as well as pain management treatments and to determine the influence of those beliefs on participants' willingness to undertake 3 physician-recommended pain treatments, that is, a pharmacologic, physical, and psychological therapy.

Materials And Methods: A 16-item questionnaire was employed to ascertain participants' pain beliefs, divided into 4 subscales representing: (1) negative beliefs about pharmacological treatments, (2) positive beliefs about physical treatment approaches, for example, exercise, (3) positive beliefs about psychological treatments, and (4) fatalistic beliefs about pain. Participants were asked to rate their willingness to undertake a pharmacologic, physical, or psychological therapy if their physician recommended that they do so.

Family Caregiver Perspectives on Benefits and Challenges of Caring for Older Adults With Paid Caregivers.

Background: Many older adults receive help from both family caregivers and home care workers. We aimed to understand family caregivers' perspectives on home care workers.

Methods: This qualitative study took place at an academic medical center in New York, N.

Caregiver-Reported Quality Measures and Their Correlates in Home Hospice Care.

A majority of hospice care is delivered at home, with significant caregiver involvement. Identifying factors associated with caregiver-reported quality measures could help improve hospice care in the United States. To identify correlates of caregiver-reported quality measures: burden, satisfaction, and quality of end-of-life (EoL) care in home hospice care.

Eliciting the educational priorities of home care workers caring for adults with heart failure.

Background: Although home care workers (HCWs) are increasingly caring for adults with heart failure (HF), many feel unprepared and lack HF training. To serve as the foundation for a future educational intervention, we aimed to elicit HCWs' HF educational needs.

Methods: We partnered with the largest healthcare union in the US to recruit 41 HCWs employed by 17 home care agencies.

Identifying the Prevalence and Correlates of Caregiver-Reported Symptoms in Home Hospice Patients at the End of Life.

Symptoms (e.g., pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue) at the end of life (EoL) are common.

Prevalence, Severity, and Correlates of Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression at the Very End of Life.

Context: Rates of psychological symptoms for patients with serious illness are high, but there has been limited research investigating psychological symptoms at the very end of life (EOL).

Objectives: To better understand the prevalence, severity, and correlates of psychological distress at the very EOL.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study utilized caregiver proxy interviews.

Perceptions of a Home Hospice Crisis: An Exploratory Study of Family Caregivers.

Crises that occur in home hospice care affect family caregivers' satisfaction with care and increase risk of disenrollment. Because hospice care focuses on achieving a peaceful death, understanding the prevalence and nature of crises that occur in this setting could help to improve end-of-life outcomes. To ascertain the prevalence and nature of, as well as factors associated with crises in the home hospice setting as reported by family caregivers.

Home Hospice Caregivers' Perceived Information Needs.

Background:: Although home hospice organizations provide essential care for and support to terminally ill patients, many day-to-day caregiving responsibilities fall to informal (ie, unpaid) caregivers. Studies have shown that caregivers value receiving clear information about end-of-life (EoL) care. Meeting the information needs of this group is critical in improving their experience in hospice.

Mobile Health Technology Is Here-But Are Hospice Informal Caregivers Receptive?

Background:: Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) represent a rapidly emerging technology that is being used to improve health-care delivery. In home hospice, informal caregivers play an essential role in attending to the day-to-day needs of their terminally ill loved ones. Using mHealth apps by caregivers in this setting could potentially improve the support provided to both patients and caregivers at the end of life (EoL).

Examining the Role of Primary Care Physicians and Challenges Faced When Their Patients Transition to Home Hospice Care.

Background: The transition into home hospice care is often a critical time in a patient's medical care. Studies have shown patients and caregivers desire continuity with their physicians at the end of life (EoL). However, it is unclear what roles primary care physicians (PCPs) play and what challenges they face caring for patients transitioning into home hospice care.

Awareness and Misperceptions of Hospice and Palliative Care: A Population-Based Survey Study.

Background: Despite the documented benefits of palliative and hospice care on improving patients' quality of life, these services remain underutilized. Multiple factors limit the utilization of these services, including patients' and caregivers' lack of knowledge and misperceptions.

Objectives: To examine palliative and hospice care awareness, misperceptions, and receptivity among community-dwelling adults.