Long-Term Care Workers Struggle With Elderly Population Boom

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Also Included In: Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 15 Aug 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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As America's aging population increases, so does its need for long-term care. And the workers who provide these services often lack the support they need - particularly in the area of pay and work relationships, according to "Better Jobs Better Care: New Research on the Long-Term Care Workforce," the latest special issue of The Gerontologist (Volume 48, Special Issue 1). Those aged 65 and older are projected to represent at least 20 percent of the total U.S. population by 2030, with the number of those 85-and-older increasing the most. The growth of this demographic will have a major effect on the demand for and supply of long-term care services.

Better Jobs Better Care (BJBC) was the nation's largest single initiative created to reduce the high vacancy and turnover rates of direct care workers and improve workforce quality through both policy and practice changes.

Findings From The Better Jobs Better Care Demonstration Program

What Do Direct Care Workers Say Would Improve Their Jobs? Differences Across Settings

Implementation of the Better Jobs Better Care Demonstration: Lessons for Long-Term Care Workforce Initiatives

factors that predict better retention

Nursing Assistants' Job Commitment: Effect of Nursing Home Organizational Factors and Impact on Resident Well-Being

Love, Money, or Flexibility: What Motivates People to Work in Consumer-Directed Home Care?

The Impact of Stress and Support on Direct Care Workers' Job Satisfaction

Organizational And Management Interventions

A Mixed-Method Evaluation of a Workforce Development Intervention for Nursing Assistants in Nursing Homes: The Case of WIN A STEP UP

A Facility Specialist Model for Improving Retention of Nursing Home Staff: Results From a Randomized, Controlled Study

Expanding The Labor Pool

Older Workers: An Opportunity to Expand the Long-Term Care/Direct Care Labor Force

Retention of Paid Related Caregivers: Who Stays and Who Leaves Home Care Careers?

Measuring Person-Directed Care

Development and Initial Testing of a Measure of Person-Directed Care

The Gerontologist is a refereed publication of The Gerontological Society of America, the nation's oldest and largest multidisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society - and its 5,000+ members - is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public.

The Gerontological Society of America