REPORT: Consumers More Satisfied with Highly Skilled Caregivers
Reliable, trustworthy, and skilled caregivers were the most important factor in leading a consumer to be “very satisfied” with his or her long-term care, according to a report prepared for The SCAN Foundation by LifePlans, Inc.
The researchers therefore conclude that advanced training for caregivers — including direct-care workers in all care settings — could help boost overall satisfaction levels among consumers.
“Such training could help to identify the source of unmet needs, emphasize the importance of the personal dimension of caregiving — not just the technical — and assure that paid caregivers have a thorough understanding of the criticality of building trust and communication with the care recipient,” the researchers write.
The study also found that consumers’ satisfaction with their quality of care tends to decrease over time regardless of their care setting.
More than four-fifths (83 percent) of home care consumers reported being “very satisfied” with their care providers at the beginning of their care. One year later, however, only 60 percent of those consumers said they were still “very satisfied.”
Similar drop-offs over the same 12-month time period were recorded for nursing home care (down from 62 percent to 43 percent) and consumers of assisted living (down from 80 percent to 53 percent).
Two supplementary reports explore the nature of consumer satisfaction in more detail, and are available to download at The SCAN Foundation website:
- Understanding Satisfaction Among Older Adults Using Long-Term Services and Supports
- Understanding the Dimensions of Satisfaction with Long-Term Services and Supports
— by Matthew Ozga
