Recorded presentation

Jeanne Geiger-Brown, PhD RN, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 655 West Lombard Street, Suite 645, Baltimore, MD 21201, 410-706-5368, jgeiger@son.umaryland.edu and Carles Muntaner, MD PhD, Behavioral and Community Health, University of Maryland, 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Home care workers provide physical assistance and emotional support to community-dwelling disabled and elderly persons. The emotional demands on the worker have been understudied. We developed an 11-item scale from focus groups with home care workers. We then examined the variation in these demands based on four caregiving situations: caring for relative in own home, relative/not in own home, not relative/living with worker, not relative/not living with worker. Telephone interviews (CATI) of 1663 home care workers in an urban West Coast city were conducted (English and Spanish). A high proportion of workers (89% often/always) felt that they were not able to meet the needs of consumer (not enough time to talk with consumer, provide emotional support, provide material assistance); and this was worst when caring for relative in own home (c² =38.5, p <.001). Frustrating situations (difficulty communicating, being hit, consumer overly dependent, consumer refusing medical care) were less common (10% sometimes-always), but workers caring for a relative in own home had highest level compared to other caregiving situations (F=33.4, df=3, p < .001). One-fourth of the sample (often/always) were witness to significant sickness (consumer very sick, lot of pain) and 13% (often/always) had to emotionally suppress their own reactions (not state own opinion, hide feelings) when with the consumer. There were no significant differences among caregiving situations for witnessing sickness or emotional suppression. Home care workers experience considerable emotional demands in their work, and this may be increased for workers who care for relatives in their own home.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the emotional labor performed by home care workers
• Identify contextual elements that may be associated emotional labor

Keywords: Home Care, Workplace Stressors

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation