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 experience a myriad of physical and emotional demands on their job without the normal protections against abuse afforded by employers. In a CATI survey of home care workers (N=1663) (English/Spanish) we assessed the prevalence of abuse situations and association to depression. Workers reported witnessing neglect (8%), verbal abuse (3%), physical abuse (< 1%) of family members toward consumers. They also experienced abuse directed toward themselves, including: angry and verbally abusive family members (4%), verbally abusive consumers (13%), being accused of stealing (4%), dealing with family members who are drunk or high (1%), frequent criticism (13%), sexual harassment (< 1%), prejudicial remarks (4%). They also experienced depersonalizing situations such as being asked for “extras” by family members (3%), and dealing with unreasonable demands such as very heavy cleaning (5%). Using a revised version of the CESD, 6% of workers met the screening criteria for depression. All abuse situations (sometimes to always) were highly associated with depression, with odds for each abuse situation(sometimes to always) ranging from 3 to 16 times the reference group (never/seldom). Although the prevalence of abuse is not high for many home care situations, the risk to mental health of workers is undeniable; and even small prevalence rates affect a large number of workers, as there are 2.3 million unlicensed health care workers providing direct care to consumers in the U.S.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify abusive situations that home care workers experience on the job.
• Describe one mental health impact of abuse during home care work.

Keywords: Violence, Home Care

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