To care for them, we need to take care of ourselves: A qualitative study on the health of home health aides

Objective: To understand the perspectives of home health aides (HHAs) toward their own health and health behaviors, and how their job impacts both.

Data sources and study setting: Interviews were conducted with 28 HHAs from 16 unique home care agencies from August 2021 to January 2022. The study was conducted in partnership with the 1199SEIU Training and Employment Fund, a labor-management fund of the largest health care union in the US.

Study design: A qualitative study with English and Spanish-speaking HHAs. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured topic guide, informed by Pender's Health Promotion Model and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Total Worker Health Model. To be eligible, HHAs had to be currently employed by a home care agency in New York, NY.

Data collection/extraction methods: Interviews were recorded, professionally transcribed, and analyzed thematically.

Principal findings: The 28 HHAs had a mean age of 47.6 years (SD 11.1), 39% were non-Hispanic Black, 43% were Hispanic, and they had a mean of 14.1 years (SD 7.8) of job experience. Five themes emerged; HHAs were: (1) Healthy enough to work, but were managing their own chronic conditions while working; (2) Motivated to be healthy, in part driven by their desire to care for others; (3) Worked closely with sick patients, which influenced their perceptions of health; (4) Experienced occupational and patient-level barriers to practicing healthy behaviors; (5) Sought support and resources to improve their health and wellbeing.

Conclusions: HHAs have numerous health challenges, many of which are influenced by their job. Culturally and occupationally tailored interventions may mitigate the barriers that HHAs experience to achieve optimal health.