Personal home care workers' role in hospital: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES

Unlike in most high-income countries, in Israel personal (social) care of elderly patients in hospitals is provided either by relatives or friends, or, for those patients with live-in assistance at home, by their home care workers. Our aim was to understand the explicit and implicit roles of live-in carers and whether any difficulties occurred.

METHODS

Interviews in the internal medicine unit of Hadassah Hospital with 17 patients, 16 relatives, 20 home care workers and 20 nurses. Data were subjected to categorical content analysis.

RESULTS

Three major themes emerged: the development of teamwork with relatives and nurses; the varied roles of home care workers including nursing care, emotional care, and monitoring and supervision of the patient; and the conflicts and challenges associated with having a care worker related to their physical presence and the care worker's own social needs.

CONCLUSIONS

Israel partially addresses its nursing shortage by allowing paid home care workers to take an active role in the care of hospitalized older adults. This can have both a positive and a negative impact on the role and perception of nursing.