UCSF Researchers Report on Trends in Personal Assistance Supply and Demand
In a study conducted at the UCSF Center for Personal Assistance Services (CPAS) and reported in the July/August issue of Health Affairs, researchers H. Stephen Kaye, Susan Chapman, Robert Newcomer and Charlene Harrington used data from two federal surveys of the U.S. population to assess both the size of the workforce providing paid personal assistance services and the relative growth of that workforce compared with the population needing such services.
Growing demand for personal assistance services, combined with the low wage levels, scarce health benefits and high job turnover rates for those delivering such services, "highlight the need for greater attention to ensuring a stable and well-trained workforce," as noted in the study abstract. Lack of adequate services can lead to adverse health and social consequences.
H. Stephen Kaye, PhD is an associate adjunct professor in the Institute for Health and Aging, UCSF; Susan Chapman, PhD, RN is an assistant adjunct professor in the UCSF Center for the Health Professions; Robert J. Newcomer, PhD and Charlene Harrington, PhD, RN are professors in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF.
Links:
"Lack of Personal Assistance Workers Could Threaten Elderly"
(HealthDay)
Center for Personal Assistance Services
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"The Personal Assistance Workforce: Trends in Supply and Demand" H. Stephen Kaye, Susan Chapman, Robert J. Newcomer and Charlene Harrington Health Affairs 2006 25(4): 1113 Abstract | Full Text | Full Text (PDF) |