Does the clinical context affect the validity of bathroom recommendations made by home health aides?

Abstract

Introduction When there is a shortage of occupational therapists, an organizational model that involves home health aides in the process of recommending bathroom equipment could have a positive impact on the physical and psychological health of these workers. Currently, the involvement of home health aides is often limited to clients already receiving their services. The purpose of this study was to compare the criterion validity of recommendations made by home health aides regarding bathroom equipment for community-living adults presenting bathing difficulties under two clinical contexts: new referrals (group 1) and clients already receiving bathing assistance from home health aides (group 2). Methods Community-living adults with bathing difficulties ( n = 96) were visited by an occupational therapist (gold standard) and by one of four home health aides. Both evaluations took place within 10 days and evaluators were blind to the recommendations made by the other. Results Participants in the two groups differed on residential status, medical diagnosis and functional autonomy level. However, there was no significant difference between the groups in the criterion validity of the recommendations made by the home health aides. Conclusions Involvement of home health aides could be considered with a broader group of clients to increase the likelihood of bathrooms being properly adapted to the needs of both client and worker. Relevance to industry This study can support workers and homecare managers in their decision regarding whether to involve home health aides in a new and controversial role.