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Stone, R.I., Dawson, S.L. & Harahan, M. (2003, October). Why Workforce Development Should Be Part of the Long-Term Care Quality Debate. American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and the Institute for the Future of Aging Services, Washington, DC.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a largely overlooked feature of the long-term care system—direct-care workers—into the long term care quality debate. Our thesis is that the quality of long-term care—the recipients’ clinical and functional outcomes and quality of life—is significantly influenced by the attributes these workers bring to their caregiving jobs, the education and training they receive, and the quality of their jobs. The attitudes, values, skills and knowledge of these workers, how they are compensated and rewarded, and the way their jobs are organized and managed, all have a role to play in determining long-term care quality. Workforce development activities designed to increase the capacity of these individuals to participate effectively in long-term care settings should be integrated into all ongoing and new long-term care quality improvement and quality assurance initiatives.
The paper addresses the following topics:
o The scope of federal quality initiatives to date;
o Why workforce development should be considered an important dimension of long-term care quality;
o The key policy and practice constraints that impede linking workforce development issues and long-term care quality;
o Examples of quality improvement initiatives that have incorporated workforce development activities; and,
o Applied research activities to examine the link between workforce development and long-term care quality.
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Also vailable from the Direct Care Clearing House. Published on the Web
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