CNHS Professor Examines Retention of Home Health Care Nurses

By Ed Hayward

In an effort to help bolster the ranks of home health care nurses needed to care for America's aging population, UMass Boston professor Carol Hall Ellenbecker and a colleague from Marymount University have been awarded a three-year, $828,000 grant from federal health officials.

Ellenbecker, principal investigator, and Leslie Neal, a professor at Marymount University, received funding from the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to study job satisfaction for home health care nurses and the factors that encourage nurses to remain on the job.

"With an aging population and the increasing desire for seniors to live independently at home, the shortage of home health care nurses is becoming serious," said Ellenbecker, who directs the Ph.D. in Nursing Program at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the leading supplier of trained nurses in Massachusetts.

The study comes as the United States copes with an ongoing nursing shortage that could soon reach critical proportions. If allowed to continue, the shortage could harm the quality of care that people receive or, in some cases, even prevent people from receiving the care that they need. Severe nursing shortages are expected in 2010 as baby boomers reach retirement age and the demand for health care services increases.

Ellenbecker is familiar with the home health care delivery system, having served as a visiting nurse and directed a home health care agency. Her research focuses on the exploration of health care delivery systems for the purposes of expanding knowledge on health policy--evaluating policies with an eye toward ensuring quality and expanding access to care. Ellenbecker is a frequent contributor to community-based publications such as Home Health Care Management and Practice, the Journal of Community Health Nursing, and Caring magazine.

The current award is the culmination of a two-year effort that began in the spring of 2001 with an internal faculty grant for development support. During the proposal effort, Ellenbecker assembled a team of experts from the university, as well as researchers and policy experts from Washington, D.C.

"It's exciting to work at UMass Boston," said Ellenbecker, "The resources are extensive and really contribute to the university's research mission." Project participants include the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, Brian Clarridge and Anthony Roman from the Center for Survey Research, and Frank Porell, a faculty member at the Gerontology Institute. Linda Samia, a registered nurse and a student in the Ph.D. in Nursing Program, is serving as project coordinator.

More research assistants will be added as the work of collecting voluntary survey responses from an estimated four thousand home health care nurses throughout New England begins. As she assembles results during the next three years, Ellenbecker expects the data will contribute to the formulation of policies to address the shortage of home health care nurses.

"The demand for home health services is expected to dramatically increase in the future due the aging population, advances in technology, and changes in medical practice," said Ellenbecker. "These factors have made the retention of experienced, qualified nursing staff a priority. Understanding the factors, institutional and personal, that contribute to remaining in the profession will be a crucial contribution to quality care for home health care patients."

Image: Professor Carol Hall Ellenbecker of the Adult Gerontological Nursing Program received a three-year, $828,000 grant from the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality to study job satisfaction for home health care nurses. (Photo by Harry Brett)

Go to menu