Home care workers who have been trained in heart failure are more satisfied with their jobs and feel more prepared and confident working with heart failure patients, according to new cross-campus research from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Approximately two-thirds of the 323 home care workers surveyed reported having “none” or “a little” training in recognizing and managing heart-disease symptoms. Among the third that had received “some” or “a lot” of training, job satisfaction was 14% higher. Moreover, 72% of home care workers who had received at least some training felt confident providing care ranging from blood pressure checks and meal preparation to help with recognizing and managing symptoms, compared with 30% of those lacking training.
“These workers are on the front lines with patients, and there are a lot of ways in which they can enhance patient care,” said Ariel Avgar, LL.B, Ph.D., associate dean for outreach and associate professor at the School of ILR. “With proper training and with a shift in the way care teams operate, this workforce could be leveraged more fully.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6.2 million Americans have heart failure.
This article originally appeared on McKnight's Senior Living
