With staffing shortages plaguing providers across healthcare, including home care, investing in the education and training of direct care workers (DCWs) could help stabilize the industry and improve the quality of care for patients, a new article in Health Affairs found.
The United States requires nearly 8 million DCWs in the next decade to meet demand for home care and nursing services, but projections show the supply of DCWs in 2030 to be more than 150,000 short of that number. A reason for this could be a lack of workforce development for DCWs.
DCWs work long and demanding hours, yet are often underpaid and undervalued. Research found that most DCWs “see little to no opportunity” for professional growth.
“DCWs in our research express being ‘stuck’ without opportunities for career advancement despite having decades of experience providing care to clients and supporting their families,” the researchers said.
The researchers proposed a number of policy solutions to address the staffing shortage including increasing funding for workforce development programs, expanding access to affordable education and training programs and improving working conditions for DCWs.
They suggested that a portion of the funding from President Joe Biden’s 2021 $400 billion proposal for home- and community-based services be used to train DCWs and provide specialized support to family caregivers.
“One pathway could involve training DCWs as caregiving coaches to support other DCWs within their organization as well as family caregivers in their local or cultural community,” the researchers said. “These coaches can provide training in listening and relationship-building skills and can offer guidance in transitions to new clients and managing challenges in family dynamics.”
Investments in the education and training of DCWs would improve the quality of care to patients and also reduce the costs associated with high turnover rates and low job satisfaction, they wrote.
