Home care is a vital component of the United States healthcare delivery system. The demand for home care has steadily increased over the past decade and it is projected that this increase will continue over the next several decades. Moreover, the utilization of Medicaid waiver home and community-based care services has expanded to provide an alternative to the more costly institutional placement. In order to meet this growing demand while maintaining the cost-savings, the system relies primarily on the minimally trained, healthcare paraprofessionals known as Personal Care Assistants (PCAs). The present study examined the career commitment and job satisfaction of PCAs who provide Medicaid waiver home and community-based care services and participated in a 40-hour training intervention. Specifically, the study evaluated differences in pre- and post-training levels of career commitment as measured by the Career Commitment Measure (CCM), in terms of overall career commitment and the three subscales: career identity, career planning, and career resilience; and job satisfaction as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (M.S.Q), in terms of overall job satisfaction and the two subscales: extrinsic job satisfaction and intrinsic job satisfaction, between age groups and groups based on extrinsic job satisfaction. Additionally, the study examined the interaction of age and extrinsic job satisfaction as a moderator on the influence of the training intervention to produce a change in career commitment and the three subscales of career commitment, career identity, career planning, and career resilience job satisfaction. The results of analyses were varied across groups and measures. Specifically, there were no statistically significant differences across age group in terms of changes in career commitment or job satisfaction as a consequence of the training; however, post-hoc examinations revealed statistically significant within group changes. A decrease in the overall, intrinsic, and extrinsic job satisfaction score from pre- to post-training for the 40-49 age group was found. Likewise, the 50-59 age group showed a statistically significant decrease in the extrinsic job satisfaction scores from pre- to post-training. The PCA's level of extrinsic job satisfaction did have a statistically significant differential effect on changes in overall career commitment and career planning scores as a consequence of the training. The exploration of the interaction of age and extrinsic job satisfaction to influence changes in career commitment as a consequence of the training found statistically significant main effects with respect to levels of extrinsic job satisfaction for overall career commitment, career identity, career planning, and career resilience. However, no main effects for age and no interaction effects were obtained. These study findings have important implications for future research, and the development of training curricula and evaluation. Results provide critical information about this largely overlooked group of healthcare paraprofessionals, which have practical application in more effectively improving job satisfaction through training initiatives, thereby increasing the recruitment and retention of the paraprofessional healthcare workforce.

The Handbook is intended for all researchers in education and the social sciences─undergraduate students to advanced doctoral students and research faculty. Part I provides an introduction to basic quantitative research methods, including analysis and interpretation of statistical tests associated with each method. Examples of qualitative designs and mixed methods research are also included. A chapter on measurement techniques in education and the social science is provided. Part II of the Handbook includes over a 130 instruments organized under 40 topics, extracted from the research literature. Each instrument is discussed in detail concerning its measurement characteristics used in its development. A section also includes Instruments Available through Commercial Organizations, which provide the latest sources for teacher and principal evaluation. New to This Edition -Enhanced chapters concerning Quantitative research methods with analysis and interpretation of research data appropriate to each statistical test. -Detailed chapter of measurement procedures used in instrumentation development, including the appropriate application of reliability and validity tests, item analysis, and factor analysis with analysis and interpretation of research data. -Introduction to Qualitative research design and appropriate methods, and the application of mixed methods in research design. -Expanded section of actual research instruments available for measurement purposes in education and social science research. -Enhanced section including Instruments Available through Commercial Organizations. This provides the latest sources for teacher and principal evaluation.

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Patient-centered, high-quality health care relies on the well-being, health, and safety of health care clinicians. However, alarmingly high rates of clinician burnout in the United States are detrimental to the quality of care being provided, harmful to individuals in the workforce, and costly. It is important to take a systemic approach to address burnout that focuses on the structure, organization, and culture of health care. Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being builds upon two groundbreaking reports from the past twenty years, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System and Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, which both called attention to the issues around patient safety and quality of care. This report explores the extent, consequences, and contributing factors of clinician burnout and provides a framework for a systems approach to clinician burnout and professional well-being, a research agenda to advance clinician well-being, and recommendations for the field.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

" This is the first research-based book to confront workplace issues facing nurses who have disabilities. It not only examines in depth their experiences, roadblocks to successful employment, and misperceptions surrounding them, but also provides viable solutions for creating positive attitudes towards them and a welcoming work environment that fosters hiring and retention. From the perspectives and actual voices of nurses with disabilities, nurse leaders, nurse administrators, and patients, the book identifies nurses with disabilities (including sensory, musculoskeletal, emotional, and mental health issues), discusses why they choose to leave nursing or hide their disabilities, and analyzes how their disabilities may influence career choices. "