Immediate aftermath of a client’s death: the experience of home health aides

Adrita Barooah; Kathrin Boerner; Hayley P. Gleason; Isabelle van Riesenbeck

doi:10.1080/01621424.2018.1561586

Immediate aftermath of a client’s death: the experience of home health aides

Adrita Barooah, Kathrin Boerner, Hayley P. Gleason, Isabelle van Riesenbeck

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigated Home Health Aides’ (HHAs) experiences in the immediate aftermath of client death. Semi-structured in-person interviews with 80 HHAs explored how notification of death and reassignment to a new client were handled. Only 42.5% of HHAs were notified of the death; 40% had to notify the agency; 17.5% were not notified at all and had a negative experience. Reassignment preferences varied, but HHAs had a better experience when their preferences were taken into consideration. Study findings suggest that more mindful approaches to transitions following client death would be valued by HHAs and could improve their work experience.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	14-28
Number of pages	15
Journal	Home Health Care Services Quarterly
Volume	38
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/01621424.2018.1561586
State	Published - 2 Jan 2019
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Client death
direct care workers
home health aides
notification
reassignment

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10.1080/01621424.2018.1561586

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abstract = "This study investigated Home Health Aides{\textquoteright} (HHAs) experiences in the immediate aftermath of client death. Semi-structured in-person interviews with 80 HHAs explored how notification of death and reassignment to a new client were handled. Only 42.5% of HHAs were notified of the death; 40% had to notify the agency; 17.5% were not notified at all and had a negative experience. Reassignment preferences varied, but HHAs had a better experience when their preferences were taken into consideration. Study findings suggest that more mindful approaches to transitions following client death would be valued by HHAs and could improve their work experience.",

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AB - This study investigated Home Health Aides’ (HHAs) experiences in the immediate aftermath of client death. Semi-structured in-person interviews with 80 HHAs explored how notification of death and reassignment to a new client were handled. Only 42.5% of HHAs were notified of the death; 40% had to notify the agency; 17.5% were not notified at all and had a negative experience. Reassignment preferences varied, but HHAs had a better experience when their preferences were taken into consideration. Study findings suggest that more mindful approaches to transitions following client death would be valued by HHAs and could improve their work experience.

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Immediate aftermath of a client’s death: the experience of home health aides

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Keywords

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