What makes home health workers think about leaving their job? The role of physical injury and organizational support

Abstract

Based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, this study explored the role of physical injury and organizational support in predicting home health workers' turnover intention. In a sample of home health workers in Central Texas (n = 150), about 37% reported turnover intention. The logistic regression model showed that turnover intention was 3.23 times more likely among those who had experienced work-related injury. On the other hand, organizational support was found to reduce the likelihood of turnover intention. Findings suggest that injury and organizational support should be prioritized in prevention and intervention efforts to promote home health workers' safety and retention.

“That's not my job”: A mixed methods study of challenging client behaviors, boundaries, and home care aide occupational safety and health

“…The importance of reliable organizational support in avoiding and navigating extra task requests was one of the strongest themes identified in the qualitative analysis. Existing literature reinforces the qualitative findings that supportive agencies increase aide satisfaction and decrease turnover intent . Weak supervisor support has also been associated with injury .…”

“…Injury has been associated with both lower job satisfaction and increased turnover. [31][32][33] Emotional strain and violence have been found to have similar impacts. 33,34 Violence against workers in the similar field of nursing home care has been associated with musculoskeletal pain.…”

“…While the quantitative analysis found that client requests for extra tasks were individually associated with aide abuse, injury, and job dissatisfaction, it is worth noting that the relationship among these outcomes is complex. Injury has been associated with both lower job satisfaction and increased turnover . Emotional strain and violence have been found to have similar impacts .…”

“…Existing literature reinforces the qualitative findings that supportive agencies increase aide satisfaction and decrease turnover intent. 32,33,36 Weak supervisor support has also been associated with injury. 31 While the employer for directhired aides is the client, for aides with a labor union membership, unions can play an organizational supporting role.…”

Racial–Ethnic Differences in Turnover Intent Among Home Health Aides

“…As a group, HHAs are mostly satisfied with their jobs, but a significant problem exists within the profession with low retention and high turnover rates (Bercovitz et al, 2011; Stone & Dawson, 2008; Weng & Landes, 2017; Wilhelm, Bryant, Sutton, & Stone, 2015). The home health industry has been historically challenged with recruitment and retention of its workforce (Stone, 2004; Stone & Dawson, 2008), with high turnover intention rates reported at 37% to 43% in agency or state-level surveys (Feldman, Ryvicker, Evans, & Barrón, 2019; A. A. Lee & Jang, 2016; Morris, 2009) and 24% among a national survey of HHAs (Stone et al, 2017; Wilhelm et al, 2015).…”