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LTSS Center Presents Research at 2022 GSA Scientific Meeting

The LTSS Center shared research findings at the Gerontological Society of America’s prestigious annual gathering in November.

Researchers at the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston shared findings from a host of recent studies during this year’s Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America. The meeting was held Nov. 2-6 in Indianapolis.

Studies by researchers in the LTSS Center’s Boston office—including Katrin Boerner, Marc Cohen, Caitlin Coyle, Beth Dugan, Erin McGaffigan, Edward A. Miller, Jan Mutchler, Pamela Nadash, Nina Silverstein, Jane Tavares, and Eileen Tell—were featured in a variety of symposia, papers, and posters during the meeting. Find out more about these sessions at the Gerontology Institute Blog.

Researchers at the LTSS Center’s Washington office participated in the following symposia and poster sessions:

Factors Associated with Nursing Home Direct Care Professionals’ Turnover Intent During COVID-19: This poster session described research exploring how the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the well-being of direct care professionals in nursing homes and led to high rates of turnover and staff shortages among those caregivers. Researchers Verena Cimarolli, Natasha Bryant, and Robyn Stone from the LTSS Center, and Francesca Falzarano of Weill Cornell Medicine, conducted the research. Findings underscore the importance of employer supports in the job satisfaction and turnover of direct care professionals in nursing homes and have implications for how to improve quality of care in these care settings.

Lessons Learned from an Enhanced Service Coordination Model in Senior Housing. Researcher Alexandra Hennessa discussed a process evaluation of the LSA Senior Connect Model that the LTSS Center conducted in 2021. The Senior Connect model was designed to build the capacity of service coordinators to better meet the needs of aging residents in affordable senior housing. Hennessa and her co-author Robyn Stone summarized the Senior Connect framework and tools, and discussed lessons learned from the process evaluation, including lessons for policy and practice.

Factors Associated with Home Care Aides’ Job Satisfaction During COVID-19. LTSS Center researchers Verena Cimarolli, Natasha Bryant, Kathrin Boerner, and Robyn Stone joined Richard Chunga of the University of Massachusetts Boston in conducting this research about turnover rates among home care aides. The study used survey data to identify variables associated with job satisfaction among 114 home care aides during the pandemic. Findings underscore the importance of employer supports in home care aide job satisfaction and provide important lessons for how employers can support home care aides during the pandemic and beyond.

Policy Attention Needed to Improve Direct Care Worker Wages and Other Challenges. Robyn Stone served as a discussant during this symposium, which presented the results of three studies focusing on direct care professionals conducted by RTI International and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). Together, these studies suggest that more policy attention is needed to improve direct care work and attract the millions of additional direct care professionals that are expected to be needed in coming years.

Programs to Improve Quality of Life and Health: What Do Older Adults and Practitioners Think? Robyn Stone served as a discussant during this symposium, which explored four studies that collected data from practitioners and/or older adults to gain their perspectives on programs to help maintain quality of life and health. Stone addressed the question of how these types of data can be used to help shape policy and practice.

Family Members’ Communication with Long-Term Care Providers and Its Influence on Resident Well-Being. This poster session reported on the findings of research by Francesca Falzarano of Weill Cornell Medicine, Verena Cimarolli of the LTSS Center, and Karen Siedlecki of Fordham University regarding communication dynamics among family members and staff in nursing homes. The findings provide insights into how interpersonal dynamics between family and formal care providers influence resident functioning. Findings also underscore the importance of enhanced communication among all members of the primary care team, including healthcare providers, residents, and their family members.

Organizational Supports Associated with Nursing Assistants’ Job Satisfaction During COVID-19. This poster session presented data from an employee engagement and management system that was used to examine organizational supports and work-related stresses associated with job satisfaction among nursing assistants in nursing homes. Findings from the research, conducted by Natasha Bryant, Verena Cimarolli, Francesca Falzarano, and Robyn Stone, provide insights into the important roles that employer supports, and the reduction of work-related stressors, can play in determining nursing assistants’ job satisfaction.

The Value Proposition for Diversity: Creating a Pipeline of Diversity in the LTSS Sector. This poster session summarized findings from three LTSS Center research activities focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in aging services organizations. Research activities included a DEI survey conducted with chief executive officers (CEO) of multi-setting aging services organizations; interviews with chief diversity officers and CEOs about current workplace DEI efforts and their associated challenges; and interviews with leaders of color who have had experience with the aging services sector. Natasha Bryant, Alexandra Hennessa, Adrienne Ruffin, and Robyn Stone led the research activities.