Needs Assessment for Certified Nursing Assistants Providing Personal Care

Abstract

Home health care allows individuals to receive care in a home setting rather than a medical facility. This increasingly popular alternative to health care has many benefits; however, providing health care in a home setting involves unique challenges and difficulties for the health care providers, such as certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Human factors interventions and technological supports may ease difficulties home health care providers experience performing caregiving tasks. However, for such interventions to be effective there is a need to understand patient care within the context of a home environment. The purpose of this research was to conduct a needs assessment to identify 1) personal caretask characteristics, including the context in which they are carried out, and 2) challenges encountered during these tasks. Eight CNAs participated in structured interviews where in they were asked to describe difficulties and frustrations experienced when performing the tasks of toileting, bathing, and transfer. The results were categorized as patient- or provider-based difficulties, as well as along dimensions related to the environment, device design, and social influences. These data provide an understanding of the complexity of each task, and a means of highlighting areas of difficulty to provide guidance for designers of assistive technologies and other supportive interventions.