Enhancing the Social Value of Home-Based Care Services by Home Care Workers

This study aimed to identify four domains for enhancing the social value of care services provided by home-based care workers and to derive policy and practical implications for older adult welfare. To achieve this, the study employed a general qualitative research method to analyze the experiences of ten home-based care workers with at least three years of experience. The analysis revealed four major domains: improving social recognition, addressing employment instability and low wages, rectifying unfair treatment, and strengthening opportunities for participation in decision-making. In the first domain, four themes emerged: education for older adults receiving services and their family caregivers, efforts to raise public awareness, the need for initiatives from institutions and their staff, and the importance of self-management among care workers. In the second domain, three themes were identified: improving the wage system, reforming the allowance system, and enhancing working conditions. The third domain highlighted four themes: the importance of guidance on the use of formal titles, the necessity for institutional measures to sanction service users who engage in unfair treatment, the need for private institutions to evaluate staff from public agencies representing the government, and the self-protective strategies of care workers. In the final domain, two themes were identified: establishing channels for participation in policy decision-making and creating regular case meetings within institutions to provide opportunities for expressing opinions on client care. Based on these findings, several discussion points and suggestions for practice and policy were proposed.