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.