Evaluating the Impact of Training for IHSS Workers

Summary

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.

Conditions

• Home Care for Elderly or Disabled Individuals

Interventions

OTHER

IHSS Basic Training

The intervention is the Center for Caregiver Advancements 30-hour IHSS Basic training course.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Center for Caregiver Advancement

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Chicago

  collaborator OTHER

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Matthew Notowidigdo, PhD · University of Chicago

• David Autor, Phd · Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Amy Finkelstein, PhD · Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Anna Russo · Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-01-09

Primary Completion

2027-06-30

Completion

2029-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations