Workforce
Direct care professionals, who provide hands-on care to millions of Americans each day, are the key to ensuring that our nation can deliver quality long-term services and supports (LTSS) to a growing older population. Yet, this vital workforce is in crisis due to high turnover, poor working conditions, inadequate training, and low pay. For over a decade, the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston has disseminated information about workforce-related challenges and collaborated with employers and policymakers to identify, demonstrate, and assess promising workforce development and improvement practices.
Featured Research
COVID-19: Impact on the LTSS Workforce and Consumers
The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston worked with WeCare Connect™ to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workforce that provides long-term services and supports (LTSS) and the recipients of those services and supports. Researchers identified how direct care professionals perceive the quality of employer preparedness and communication around COVID-19, explored COVID-related stresses and challenges associated with a caregiver’s decision to resign, and gauged the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare-related outcomes of LTSS consumers.
Evaluating a LeadingAge Maryland project to help maintenance staff and property managers at affordable senior housing communities better support resident well-being.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Assessing a LeadingAge California initiative to actively promote, recruit, train, and provide jobs for 2,700 new certified nursing assistants (CNA) and home health aides (HHA).
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Evaluating a multi-pronged intervention to bolster the home care profession by acknowledging the value of professional care providers and increasing their retention rates.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Exploring how levels of deprivation in a variety of neighborhoods have affected staffing levels in nursing homes located in those neighborhoods.
Contact: Verena Cimarolli
Evaluating the effectiveness of a workforce training program focusing on ageism and developing a toolkit for identifying and eradicating ageism and ableism in aging services.
Contact: Verena Cimarolli
Documenting how different home care business models address job design and the overall work environment for home care aides.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Exploring how the field of aging services can support a cadre of trained, competent nurse managers in residential and home care settings.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the long-term services and supports workplace.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Advancing a vision for professionalizing the direct care workforce, improving recruitment, reducing turnover, and ensuring quality.
Contact: Robyn Stone
Documenting promising state-sponsored training practices for the home care workforce.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Potential strategies for developing a stable, high-quality personal care aide workforce in Colorado.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Testing the effectiveness of an online training program to reduce “baby talk” with residents in nursing homes.
Contact: Natasha Bryant, Robyn Stone
Exploring the role that migrant/immigrant workers can play in delivering long-term services and supports.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
A 2017 survey gathered baseline information about the workforce challenges facing nonprofit providers of aging services.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Identifying competencies for personal care attendants and middle managers in long-term services and supports.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
Identifying characteristics of home care workers and factors influencing intent to leave a job.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
A national evaluation of a competency-based training curriculum for personal and home care aides.
Contact: Natasha Bryant
A $15.5 million research and demonstration program designed to help improve workforce quality.
Contact: Robyn Stone
Recognizing nurse leaders who create a supportive and engaged workplace in aging services.
Contact: Natasha Bryant