Evaluating the Impact of Training for IHSS Workers

Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Home Care for Elderly or Disabled Individuals

Treatments: Other: IHSS Basic Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06205433

2308001081

Details and patient eligibility

About

This trial investigates whether high-quality training for consumer-directed home health workers impacts health outcomes for care consumers and employment outcomes for care workers. The investigators are conducting this study in the context of the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, a consumer-directed, Medicaid-funded home care program in California serving elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients. The investigators will partner with the Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA), a training provider based in California, to conduct a randomized evaluation of the impact of training for IHSS workers on labor and health care outcomes. The evaluation will enroll IHSS workers in San Bernardino County, where CCA will be expanding its program.

Participants will be randomized to either a group that receives CCA's training or a control group that does not receive training.

Participants randomized to the training group will complete a 30 hour online course that teaches fundamental caregiving skills. Training includes personal care, infection control, nutrition and body mechanics, medication adherence, and home safety.

Researchers will compare outcomes between IHSS providers in the two groups and between IHSS consumers who receive care from the IHSS providers in the two groups to see if training impacts health, health care, and labor market outcomes.

Enrollment: 2,500 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Current IHSS provider
• Live in San Bernardino County
• IHSS consumer lives in San Bernardino County

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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2,500 participants in 2 patient groups

IHSS Basic Training

Experimental group

Description:

Individuals in the treatment group will be invited to participate in CCA's IHSS Basic training program. The program is a 30 hour online course for IHSS providers, which teaches fundamental caregiving skills. Training includes personal care, infection control, nutrition and body mechanics, medication adherence, and home safety.

Treatment:

Other: IHSS Basic Training

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

No intervention is delivered to the control group. The control group will be unable to access CCA's training programs for two years following random assignment.