Date of Graduation

Summer 8-15-2018

Document Access

Project/Capstone - Global access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Behavioral Health (MSBH)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

First Advisor

Kelly Dearman

Second Advisor

Dr. Kathleen Raffel

Abstract

Abstract

In Home Supportive Services Public Authority (IHSSPA) is a Medi-Cal funded organization that helps the elderly and disabled living in San Francisco find care and support at home. The Public Authority component of IHSS specializes in providing support to their clients or “consumers” when attempting to hire home care workers or “providers.” However, IHSSPA services remain relatively unknown throughout many communities in San Francisco county and there is a need for increased community outreach. To address this problem, communities that are currently underserved by IHSSPA were defined by their zip code. These communities were compared with data indicating which areas have high instances of seniors living in poverty (for target consumers), and high instances of unemployment (for target providers). In addition, a provider Focus Group elucidated current issues that providers encounter when enrolling in IHSSPA and being matched with consumers. Participants also offered suggestions on how to increase outreach to new providers. Direct community outreach was initiated by visiting community centers in neighborhoods with lower instances of consumer/provider residences, high instances of seniors living in poverty, or high unemployment. Staff at the participating community centers were interviewed and their prior knowledge of IHSSPA was assessed. Two community centers in the Richmond district of San Francisco agreed to display IHSSPA materials and offer them to clients. Finally, an online provider survey was utilized to gather data from 52 additional providers on themes initially identified in the provider Focus Group. Survey data supported certain themes in the Focus Group such as the tendency for consumers to request unauthorized tasks from providers. However, unlike the Focus Group, the survey data seemed to indicate increased satisfaction with training and consumer matching. Results from the provider survey also indicated there were few differences in opinion between those who had worked for a friend/family member, and those who had not.

Key Words: In Home Supportive Services, Home care, Seniors, Community-Based, Outreach, Disabled, Independent Providers, IHSS Consumers

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