Perception of Risk by Home Health Care Administrators and Field Workers

Abstract

The home health care industry has grown significantly over the past 15 years, primarily as the result of an increasing percentage of elderly needing services. Although personal risk has always been a contextual factor of home visiting, an additional challenge facing home health care administrators today is ensuring field worker safety, because visits are now made 24 hr a day, 7 days a week. The purpose of this study was to compare home health care administrators' with field workers' perceptions of risk involved in making home visits. The Home Health Care Perception of Risk Questionnaire (HHCPRQ), a self-report measure, was administered to a national random sample of 93 home health care administrators and 705 field workers to determine perception of risk within the context of making home visits. Findings indicate significant differences between home health care administrators' and field workers' perceptions of risk in making home visits. Suggestions for enhancing communication among all agency personnel and developing in-service education programs that are specifically for field workers are identified.

Multiple Risk Factors for Violence to Seven Occupational Groups in the Swedish Caring Sector

“…However, results from studies of home health care suggest that community-health nurses and home-health providers feel most at risk of violence when visiting clients living in apartments (Nadwairski 1992;Gellner et al 1994;Kendra 1996;Kendra et al 1996). In line with this, the present findings indicate that working in the homes of clients may be a risk factor.…”

“…Working during evenings and nights has been found to be associated with risk of exposure to violence in several studies (Arnetz, Arnetz and Petterson 1996;Kendra 1996;Kendra et al 1996;Gates, Fitzwater and Meyer 1999;Lee et al 1999). However, other findings indicate that acts of violence occur largely when staff provide assistance in matters of daily living (Lanza 1988;Colenda and Hamer 1991;Ghaziuddin and Ghaziuddin 1992;Lanza et al 1993Lanza et al , 1994Croker and Cummings 1995;Negly and Manley 1990;Menckel, Carter and Viitasara 2000).…”

“…In fact, only a handful of studies can be found in these areas (e.g. Colenda and Hamer 1991;Dougherty et al 1992;Ghaziuddin and Ghaziuddin 1992;Lusk 1992;Gage and Kingdom 1995;Kendra 1996;Kendra et al 1996;Kiely and Pankhurst 1998;Gates, Fitzwater and Meyer 1999;Lee et al 1999;Fazzone et al 2000), and very few are concerned with Sweden in particular (e.g. Saveman et al 1999;Menckel, Carter and Viitasara 2000;Menckel and Viitasara 2002).…”

“…Carers who have direct, everyday contact with patients or clients seem to be the most heavily exposed (Arnetz, Arnetz and Söderman 1998), but registered nurses, doctors and personnel who make occasional visits to the homes of care recipients also report significant exposure to threats and violence (Arnetz, Arnetz and Söderman 1998;Nolan et al 1999). A further exposed group consists of home-care personnel, who also provide health services and other forms of assistance (Kendra 1996;Kendra et al 1996;Fazzone et al 2000;Riopelle et al 2000). Among Swedish carers, both older and younger workers, and both men and women, are affected, but women appear to be more exposed than men in all age groups (SWEA 2001).…”

Work Experience, Work Environment, and Blood Exposure among Home Care and Hospice Nurses

“…Unlike hospital and medical office staff, home care and hospice nurses commonly provide care in the midst of clutter and disrepair, dirtiness and poor sanitation, poor lighting, loud noise, distracting or interfering human activity, and unrestrained pets 11) . They usually work alone (i.e., without professional support) 10) , often in situations in which they are at risk of physical or emotional injury or loss of property [12][13][14][15][16][17] . In addition, they are subject to excessive work loads, extensive long distance driving, and heavy paperwork demands 2,10,[12][13][14][18][19][20] .…”