Advancing Workforce Analysis and Research for Dementia (AWARD) Network

摘要/项目总结 在美国，超过600万人患有神经退行性疾病，接受护理， 无酬照护伙伴和有酬工作者的支助。有薪劳动力数量庞大且多样化， 数以百万计的人，其中大多数人从事不需要大学学位的职业。最大的占领 到目前为止，“直接护理”的劳动力，其中包括240万个人护理助理，110万护士， 800，000名家庭健康助理。这些工人受到一系列政策和计划的影响 不同的州，付款人和医疗保健组织，包括不同的培训要求，州- 关于允许直接护理人员提供哪些服务和报销的级别规定 可能影响直接护理人员需求和工资的战略。我们几乎没有证据 评估和完善政策的重要性，即使确保有足够的规模和充分的准备， 直接护理的劳动力正在增长。还迫切需要确定有效的办法， 护理工作者在与日益多样化的痴呆症患者和 其他医疗保健专业人员。 为了推进对为痴呆症患者提供服务的直接护理人员的研究，我们将建立 AWARD（Advancing Workforce Analysis and Research for Dementia）网络。劳动力研究人员来到 来自一系列学科（如公共卫生，经济学，社会学，医学，护理学）， 分布在全国各地，很少集中在任何一个机构。他们经常在不同的部门 或来自具有痴呆症护理专业知识的学者的研究单位，限制了跨学科的机会。 研究合作和指导早期研究人员的理论和实践进行 对卫生保健工作者的研究。AWARD网络将提供计划和活动，以创建一个强大的 从事直接护理劳动力及其在护理生活中的人的作用研究的研究人员社区 患有痴呆症 AWARD网络的活动将包括：（1）主办年度会议，（2）每月举行虚拟会议， 培训，网络研讨会和研讨会，（3）组织两个暑期培训机构，（4）支持竞争力 研究实习，（5）直接资助试点研究，（6）开发资源和数据，以协调和 加快研究。 AWARD网络将发展基础设施和关系，以产生支持 以实证为基础的政策和做法，以提高直接护理人员为艾滋病患者提供服务的能力。这 工作将最终通知政策领导人和医疗保健组织，努力确保适当的护理， 减少这一人群的健康差距。

ABSTRACT / PROJECT SUMMARY More than 6 million people live with neurodegenerative diseases in the United States, receiving care and support from both unpaid care partners and paid workers. The paid workforce is large and diverse, employing millions of people, most of whom are in occupations that do not require a college degree. The largest occupation by far is the “direct care” workforce, which consists of 2.4 million personal care aides, 1.1 million nursing assistants, and 800,000 home health aides. These workers are affected by a range of policies and programs that vary across states, payers, and healthcare organizations, including differing training requirements, state- level regulations regarding what services direct care workers are allowed to provide, and reimbursement strategies that may affect demand for and wages of direct care workers. We have little evidence to guide evaluation and refinement of policies even as the importance of ensuring an adequately-sized and well-prepared direct care workforce is growing. There also is an urgent need to identify effective approaches to support direct care workers in their interface with an increasingly diverse population of people living with dementia and with other healthcare professionals. To advance research on the direct care workforce that serves people living with dementia, we will establish the AWARD (Advancing Workforce Analysis and Research for Dementia) Network. Workforce researchers come from a range of academic disciplines (e.g. public health, economics, sociology, medicine, nursing) and are spread throughout the nation with few centered at any one institution. They often are in separate departments or research units from scholars with expertise in dementia care, limiting opportunities for interdisciplinary research collaborations and mentoring of early-stage researchers in the theories and practicalities of conducting studies of the healthcare workforce. The AWARD Network will offer programs and activities to create a strong community of researchers engaged in research on the direct care workforce and its role in care for people living with dementia. Activities of the AWARD Network will include: (1) hosting an annual meeting, (2) holding monthly virtual trainings, webinars, and workshops, (3) organizing two Summer Training Institutes, (4) supporting competitive research internships, (5) directly funding pilot research, and (6) developing resources and data to harmonize and accelerate research. The AWARD Network will develop infrastructure and relationships to generate research that supports evidence-based policy and practice to advance the capacity of the direct care workforce in serving PLWD. This work will ultimately inform policy leaders and healthcare organizations striving to ensure appropriate care and reduce health disparities for this population.