Number 34 n May 19, 2011

An Overview of Home Health Aides: 

United States, 2007 by Anita Bercovitz, M.P.H., Ph.D.; Abigail Moss; Manisha Sengupta, Ph.D.; Eunice Y. Park-Lee; Ph.D.; 

Adrienne Jones; and Lauren D. Harris-Kojetin, Ph.D., Division of Health Care Statistics, National Center for Health 

Statistics; and Marie R. Squillace, Ph.D., Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Abstract

Objectives—This report presents national estimates of home health aides

providing assistance in activities of daily living (ADLs) and employed by

agencies providing home health and hospice care in 2007. Data are presented on

demographics, training, work environment, pay and benefits, use of public

benefits, and injuries.

Methods—Estimates are based on data collected in the 2007 National Home

Health Aide Survey. Estimates are derived from data collected during telephone

interviews with home health aides providing assistance with ADLs and employed

by agencies providing home health and hospice care.

Results—In the United States in 2007, 160,700 home health and hospice

aides provided ADL assistance and were employed by agencies providing home

health and hospice care. Most home health aides were female; approximately

one-half were white and one-third black. Approximately one-half of aides were at

least 35 years old. Two-thirds had an annual family income of less than $40,000.

More than 80% received initial training to become a home health aide and more

than 90% received continuing education classes in the previous 2 years. Almost

three-quarters of aides would definitely become a home health aide again, and

slightly more than one-half of aides would definitely take their current job again.

The average hourly pay was $10.88 per hour. Almost three-quarters of aides

reported that they were offered health insurance by their employers, but almost

19% of aides had no health insurance coverage from any source. More than 1 in

10 aides had had at least one work-related injury in the previous 12 months.

Conclusions—The picture that emerges from this analysis is of a financially

vulnerable workforce, but one in which the majority of aides are satisfied with

their jobs. The findings may be useful in informing initiatives to train, recruit,

and retain these direct care workers.

Keywords: direct care worker • National Home Health Aide Survey • hospice

aide • long-term care

Introduction

By 2050, the estimated number of

persons who will need some type of

long-term care is projected to almost

double—from 15 million in 2000 to 27

million, assuming current patterns of

care continue (1). Of those, the majority

will receive long-term care in the

community rather than in institutions.

Currently, the majority of home- and

community-based long-term care is

provided by unpaid caregivers, such as

family members, neighbors, or friends.

Although unpaid care remains the

primary source of community-based

long-term care, the demand for paid

(formal) caregivers is expected to

increase (1). The bulk of formal

long-term care is provided by direct care

workers, such as nursing assistants,

home health aides, and personal aides,

who provide basic care and essential

help with daily activities, enabling

people with functional and activity

limitations to live independently in their

homes.

In 2006, about 3 million people

were employed in the direct care

industry, including nursing, psychiatric,

and home health aides. Direct care jobs

are projected to be among the fastestgrowing occupations in the near future,

with the greatest increases among home

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Center for Health Statistics 
Page 2 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

health aides. Projected employment of

home health aides is expected to

increase 50% between 2008 and

2018—from 921,000 to 1,382,000 (2).

Given the projected demand for

direct care workers, recruitment of

additional workers and retention of

currently employed workers is crucial.

Retention of direct care workers is a

major challenge. A low pay structure,

lack of or limited fringe benefits, a

heavy workload, poor working

conditions, lack of appropriate training,

little opportunity for professional

advancement, and a lack of respect from

management are some of the reasons

cited for high turnover and vacancy

rates (3,4). National data on direct care

workers are limited, as most of the few

existing studies are restricted to smaller

geographic areas. The Bureau of Labor

Statistics (BLS) provides estimates of

employment in the home health aide

industry to monitor labor force

participation (5). However, no nationally

representative data are collected from

home health aides that could provide

their perspectives on the work

environment, job satisfaction, and

retention. Given the high turnover and

vacancy rates (6), these data could help

policymakers understand the needs of

and challenges faced by home health

aides, and identify strategies that can

enhance the home health aide

experience.

Recognizing the need to fill the gap

in data about factors related to

recruitment and retention of home health

aides, the Department of Health and

Human Services’ Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

(ASPE) sponsored the National Home

Health Aide Survey (NHHAS). NHHAS

provides the first nationally

representative data source on home

health aides employed by agencies

providing home health or hospice care.

This report presents estimates on home

health aides’ demographics and

employing agency characteristics; aides’

reasons for becoming aides and attitudes

toward their jobs; training; work

environment; pay, employer-offered

benefits, and use of public benefits; and

work-related injuries. These estimates

help paint a picture of home health

aides—a crucial group of direct care

workers providing long-term care.

Methods

Data source

Data are from NHHAS, the first

nationally representative sample survey

of home health aides. NHHAS, a

two-stage probability sample survey,

was a supplement to the 2007 National

Home and Hospice Care Survey

(NHHCS) conducted by the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention’s

National Center for Health Statistics in

partnership with ASPE. Agencies

providing home health or hospice care

were sampled for NHHCS, then aides

were sampled from participating

sampled NHHCS agencies. Aides who

were directly employed by the sampled

agency and provided assistance in

activities of daily living (ADLs)—

including eating, toileting, bathing,

dressing, or transferring—were eligible

to participate in NHHAS. Aides were

interviewed using computer-assisted

telephone interviewing or CATI

technology. Data collection was

conducted by Westat. NHHAS data

collection is authorized under Section

306 of the Public Health Service Act

(Title 42 U.S. Code, 242K).

For further information on the

sampling, survey design, and other

survey methodology, see ‘‘Technical

Notes’’ in this report, documentation

available from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

nhhas.htm, or Vital and Health Statistics

Series 1, Number 49 (7).

Data analysis

All analyses were performed in

SAS-callable SUDAAN (8) to account

for sampling weights and the complex

sampling design. In some tables,

categories were collapsed to permit

reporting of reliable estimates.

Chi-square tests and t tests were

used to test for significance at the

p < 0.05 level. T tests were not adjusted

for multiple comparisons. The difference

between any two estimates is mentioned

in the text only if it is statistically

significant and represents an absolute

difference of at least 10 percentage

points. This approach is intended to

highlight meaningful differences. Terms

such as ‘‘similar’’ or ‘‘no significant

differences’’ are used to denote that the

estimates being compared are not

significantly different statistically.

Comparisons not mentioned may or may

not be statistically significant.

Nonresponse was handled

differently for different variables.

Missing values for age, sex, and race

were imputed using the hot-deck

method. Nonresponse for these variables

was 1.8% for age, 1.36% for sex, and

1.64% for race. Nonresponses (e.g.,

‘‘don’t know’’ and ‘‘refused’’) were

excluded when calculating estimates for

other continuous variables (e.g., hourly

wage and agency size based on number

of current patients). The percentage of

cases with nonresponses for continuous

variables ranged from 4.8% for agency

size to 6.7% for hourly wage. For other

categorical variables, nonresponses were

recoded as unknown and included in the

analyses. The percentage of nonresponse

for categorical variables ranged from

1.36% for sex to 14.5% for the aide’s

response to whether the agency offered

paid or subsidized child care. When 5%

or more of the responses were unknown,

an ‘‘unknown’’ category was included in

the tables. When an unknown category

has less than 5% nonresponse, the

unknown category is not reported in the

tables. Unknowns are included in the

denominators for percent distribution

estimates regardless of the percentages

unknown and whether they are or are

not reported in the table. Except where

noted, figures depicting percentages also

include the unknown category in the

denominator, even when the unknown

category itself is not depicted in the

figure. For this reason, category-specific

sample sizes may sum to less than table

or figure totals, and percent distributions

may sum to less than 100%. Because

nonresponses were included in the

denominator when calculating

percentages, the percentages reported are

underestimates.

In this report, the term ‘‘aides’’ is

used to refer to home health and hospice

aides. Agencies that provided both home

health and hospice care are referred to

as mixed agencies.
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011	 Page 3

Results

Employer characteristics

+ In the United States in 2007, 160,700

home health and hospice aides

provided ADL assistance and were

employed by agencies providing

home health and hospice care

(Table 1).

+ Almost three-fourths of these aides

(74.2%) worked for agencies that

provided home health care only.

+ More than three-fifths of aides

(63.3%) worked for proprietary

agencies.

+ Almost one-half of aides (47.0%)

worked for agencies located in the

South.

+ Over four-fifths of aides (84.0%)

were employed by agencies located in

metropolitan areas.

+ More than two-thirds of aides

(70.0%) worked for independent

agencies, that is, agencies that were

not part of a chain of agencies.

Aide characteristics

+ Little more than one-half of the aides

were white (53.3%) and aged 35

years and over (56.5%). An

overwhelming majority of the aides

were non-Hispanic (90.2%) and

female (95.0%).

+ More than three-quarters of aides

(77.3%) had at least a high school

diploma.

+ Nearly one-half of all aides (50.3%)

were married or living with a partner.

+ Almost one-half of all aides (46.9%)

had a family income of $30,000 or

less.

+ Most aides were U.S. citizens

(94.2%). Of these, most were citizens

by birth (89.6%).

Reasons for becoming aides

and whether would become

an aide again

+ More than three-fourths of aides

stated that they became aides because

these jobs were available close to

where they lived (80.3%), they

eventually wanted to become a nurse

(80.0%), they had provided care to

friends or relatives (76.7%), or these

jobs were steady and secure (76.2%)

(Table 2).

+	 A higher percentage of female aides

(81.1%) than male aides (59.5%)

became aides because they wanted to

eventually become a nurse. On the

other hand, more male aides (90.0%)

than female aides (73.3%) reported

becoming aides because family

members or friends were also home

health aides.

+	 Aides aged 25–34 were more likely

than those under age 25 to become

aides because they provided care to a

friend or relative (81.0% compared

with 60.9%), and liked helping

people (68.5% compared with

47.3%).

+	 Nearly three-fourths of current aides

(72.2%) would definitely become an

aide again (Table 3).

+	 Compared with those aged 45–54

(76.3%) or those aged 55 and over

(74.3%), aides under age 25 (49.9%)

were less likely to report that they

would definitely become an aide

again.

+	 Aides with no high school diploma or

General Educational Development

(GED) high school equivalency

diploma (86.7%) were more likely

than those who had some college or

trade school (66.6%) to indicate that

they would definitely become an aide

again.

Training

Initial training

+	 More than four-fifths of aides

(83.9%) had received initial training

(Table 4).

+	 More aides aged 35–44 had taken

initial training (89.6%) than aides

aged 25–34 (74.4%).

+	 A greater percentage of aides of other

races had taken initial training

(95.1%) than white aides (79.1%).

+	 Aides with less than a high school

diploma or GED were more likely to

have taken initial training (96.1%)

than aides who had a GED (82.4%),

a high school diploma (81.4%), or

some college (83.9%).

+	 Among aides who had taken initial

training, over four-fifths (82.2%)

thought the training prepared them

well for their jobs (Table 5).

+	 Aides whose initial training was

either mostly hands-on (81.6%) or

evenly split between hands-on and

classroom training (87.2%) felt more

well-prepared for their jobs than aides

whose initial training was mostly

classroom study (60.7%).

Continuing education

+	 Most aides had taken continuing

education (91.0%), including

in-service training, in the past 2 years

(Table 4).

+	 Aides aged 25–54 were more likely

to have taken continuing education in

the past 2 years (over 90%) than

aides under age 25 (76.6%).

+	 Among aides who had taken

continuing education in the past 2

years, including in-service training,

almost four-fifths found the training

very useful (79.1%), and about

one-fifth found it somewhat or not at

all useful (20.9%) (Table 6).

+	 A higher percentage of aides working

in the South (84.9%) found their

continuing education very useful

compared with aides working in the

Midwest (69.9%).

+	 Aides who said they would definitely

become an aide again were more

likely than aides who said they would

probably become an aide again to

rate their continuing education as

very useful (86.2% compared with

63.7%).

+	 Aides who rated their continuing

education very useful were more than

twice as likely to be extremely

satisfied with their jobs as aides who

rated their continuing education

somewhat or not at all useful (52.3%

compared with 22.7%) (Figure 1).

+	 Conversely, aides who found their

continuing education somewhat or not

at all useful were more than three

times as likely to be dissatisfied with

their jobs as aides who rated their

continuing education very useful

(25.9% compared with 7.5%).

Work environment

+	 Over two-thirds of aides (69.6%)

reported the number of hours they
Page 4	 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

NOTES: Job satisfaction includes the 146,300 aides (91% of total) who took continuing education in the previous 2 years. 

Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding or because the denominator includes a category of unknowns not 

reported in the figure. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007. Percent of home health aides 

Continuing education 

0 

20 

40 

60 

80 

100 

Dissatisfied with job 

Somewhat satisfied with job 

Extremely satisfied with job 

Very useful Somewhat or not at all useful

7.5 

25.9 

49.9 

22.7 

39.0 

52.3 

Figure 1. Usefulness of continuing education, by job satisfaction: United States, 2007

worked was about right; however,

about one-quarter of aides (26.2%)

would prefer to work more hours

(Table 7).

+ More than 90% of aides reported

having enough or more than enough

time to assist patients with ADLs

(Table 8).

+ One-half of all aides (50.0%) had

worked as a home health aide for 11

years or more, about four-tenths

(41.3%) had worked as an aide

between 2 and 10 years, and less than

one-tenth (8.6%) had worked as an

aide fewer than 2 years (Figure 2).

+ Slightly over one-third of aides

working in micropolitan statistical

areas (35.6%) had worked as an aide

for 11 years or more, less than aides

working in metropolitan statistical

areas (51.9%) and aides working in

other locations (48.6%) (Table 9).

+ The opportunity for career

advancement was a reason for

continuing in their current job for

89.4% of aides under age 25, cited

more than among aides aged 25–34

(71.7%) and aides aged 55 and over

(76.0%) (Table 10).

+ The opportunity to work overtime

was a reason for continuing in their

current job for 47.3% of aides under

age 25, cited less frequently than

aides aged 25–34 (75.1%), 45–54

(72.4%), and 55 and over (76.5%).

The opportunity to work overtime

was also cited more frequently as a

reason for continuing in their current

job among male aides (84.4%) than

female aides (70.3%).

+	 Almost one-half of aides (46.7%)

were extremely satisfied with their

job, 40.4% were somewhat satisfied,

and 11.7% were somewhat or

extremely dissatisfied (Table 11).

+	 Among aides who were extremely

satisfied with their job, 77.0% were

extremely satisfied with the

opportunity to do challenging work,

73.0% were extremely satisfied with

their opportunities to learn new skills,

47.0% were extremely satisfied with

their benefits, and 31.6% were

extremely satisfied with their salary.

+	 About three-fourths of aides (75.7%)

felt their supervisor respected them a

great deal as part of the health care

team, and 89.6% felt that patients

respected them a great deal as part of

the health care team.

+	 Fifty-four percent of aides would

definitely take their current job again,

while 14.0% would probably or

definitely not take their current job

again.

+	 Virtually all aides felt their work was

very important (96.5%). However,

fewer aides thought that their

supervisors (76.5%), their

organizations (66.3%), and society

(56.1%) valued their work very

much. Aides’ perceptions of the three

groups’ value of their work were all

significantly different from each other

(Figure 3).

Pay and employer-offered

benefits

+	 During 2007–2008, home health and

hospice aides earned, on average,

$10.88 per hour (Table 12). The

federal minimum wage rate specified

in the Fair Labor Standards Act that

went into effect July 24, 2007, was

$5.85 (available from http://

www.laborlawcenter.com/t-federalminimum-wage.aspx).

+	 Aides working in areas outside of

metropolitan and micropolitan

statistical areas had the lowest

average hourly wage ($8.12 per

hour), compared with $10.91 per hour

in metropolitan and $12.16 per hour

in micropolitan statistical areas.

+	 More than one-half of all aides

(56.7%) received a pay raise during

the past year.

+	 Aides working for home health care

only agencies were less likely to

receive a pay raise within the past

year (51.6%) than aides working for

hospice care only (69.6%) and mixed

agencies (73.3%).

+	 Aides working for home health care

only agencies were less likely to be

offered health insurance benefits

(66.0%) than were aides working for

hospice care only (94.3%) and mixed

agencies (89.2%) (Table 13 and

Figure 4).

+	 Over one-half of aides worked for

agencies that offered extra pay for

working holidays (62.0%) or other

paid time off (59.1%); dental, vision,

or drug benefits (56.0%); disability or

life insurance (53.2%); or paid

holidays (51.2%) or paid sick leave

(50.5%).
Percent of home health aides 

Time worked as home health aide Time worked at current job 

0 

5 

10 

15 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

12.6 

3.1 

1.6 

6.5 

3.9 

12.9 

20.9 

31.1 

20.4 

16.9 

35.0 

17.2 

15.0 

2.8 

6 months 6 months to less 1 year to less 2–5 years 6–10 years 11–20 years More than 

or fewer than 1 year than 2 years 20 years 

NOTES: Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding or because the denominator includes a category of unknowns not reported in the figure. Percentages are based on 


unrounded numbers.
 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007. 


Figure 2. Length of time worked as home health aide and at current job: United States, 2007

40 

60 

80 

100 

Values work done as home 

health aide somewhat or 

Values work done as home 

health aide very much 

Society Organization Supervisor

42.0 

56.1 

32.1 

66.3 

21.2 

76.5	 

not at all 

Percent of home health aides

20 

0 

NOTES: Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding or because the denominator includes a category of 


unknowns not reported in the figure. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.
 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007.
 

Figure 3. Home health aides’ perception of how others value their work: United States,

2007

National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011	 Page 5

employers (72.7%), only about

one-third of all aides enrolled in their

employers’ plans (37.5%) (Table 14).

+ Among all aides, about one-third had

health insurance coverage that was

exclusively provided by their

employer (31.9%), and about

one-tenth had more than one source

of health insurance (11.1%), including

employer and nonemployer sources.

Almost one-fifth of all aides had no

health insurance coverage (18.8%)

through their employer, spouse or

another individual, or a government

+ About two-thirds of aides working in (32.7%) and about one-quarter of

large home health care only agencies aides in smaller agencies (23.6%) of

received dental, vision, or drug this type.

benefits (66.3%), compared with + While about three-fourths of all aides

about one-third of aides in medium were offered health insurance by their

plan, such as Medicaid or Medicare

(Figure 5).

Use of public benefits

+	 Slightly over one-half of all aides

(51.8%) had received benefits prior to

or were receiving benefits at the time

of the NHHAS from at least one of

the following programs: Temporary

Assistance for Needy Families

(TANF); Special Supplemental

Nutrition Program for Women,

Infants, and Children (WIC); or food

stamps (Table 15).

+	 Almost one-tenth of aides were

receiving benefits from at least one of
Government only 

6.1 

Other 

nongovernment, 

nonemployer 

source only 

32.2 

Employer policy only 

31.9 

No health 

insurance 

18.8 

More than one 

source of coverage 

11.1 

Both employer 

and government 

3.1 

Both employer
 

and other
 

3.1
 

Both government
 

and other
 

4.9
 

NOTES: Percentages are based on unrounded numbers. Denominator excludes unknowns (1.9% of aides). 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007. 

Figure 5. Source of health insurance for home health aides: United States, 2007

Page 6	 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

NOTES: Denominator includes a category of unknowns not reported in the figure. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007. Percent of home health aides 

Small Medium Large Total 

43.0 

59.3 

79.0 

66.0 

83.1 

97.0 95.5 94.3 

71.3 

87.7 

91.1 89.2 

0 

20 

40 

60 

80 

100 

Home health care only Hospice care only Home health and hospice care

Figure 4. Home health aides employed by agencies offering health insurance, by agency type and size: United States, 2007

these programs (9.9%) at the time of

NHHAS.

+ Among all aides, 5.4% were

receiving housing assistance (rental

subsidy, lower rent because of

government contributions, or living in

public housing) at the time of the

interview.

Injuries

+	 At least one work-related injury in

the previous 12 months was reported

by 11.5% of aides (Table 16).

+	 Among aides with injuries, 83.4%

had only one injury.

+	 Back injuries (44.3%) and other

strains or pulled muscles (43.2%)

were the two most common types of

injuries reported among the aides

with one or more work-related

injuries in the past 12 months.

Discussion

These data are based on self-reports

through telephone interviews with 3,377

aides providing assistance in ADLs,

working directly for agencies providing

home health or hospice care and

employed by the agency at the time of

the NHHAS. The data from the first

nationally representative sample of

home health aides are especially useful

because they are based on direct

interviews with the aides. Aides are part

of a workforce where demand is

expected to increase, and supply is

expected to be insufficient to meet

demand (2). NHHAS data can be useful

as a basis for developing approaches for
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011 Page 7

improving work experiences and

increasing recruitment and retention.

The results presented in this report are

similar to studies of other direct care

workers (4,9,10) but also provide a

more complete picture of aides’ work

experiences and attitudes toward their

jobs.

Home health aides’ demographics

are not representative of the U.S.

population overall. The majority of aides

are female. While the majority of aides

are white, 34.9% of aides are

black—more than twice the percentage

in the 2007 U.S. population (13.5% of

the U.S. population identified as black

alone or in combination with other

races, with 12.8% identified as black

alone) (11). The percentage of aides

with at least a high school diploma or

GED was 92.8%, compared with 84% in

the U.S. population aged 25 and over in

2007. However, the percentage of aides

with a college or advanced degree was

5.9% compared with 27.5% for the U.S.

population aged 25 and over (12).

Almost one-half of all aides had a

total family income of $30,000 or less,

compared with a 2007 national median

family income of $50,233 (13). Aides

reported a mean of $10.88 per hour

(median $10.51) compared with national

estimates of $10.03 (median $9.62)

reported by BLS for 2007 for home

health aides. The national mean and

median hourly wage estimates for all

occupations were $19.56 (mean) and

$15.10 (median), and for health care

support occupations were $12.31 (mean)

and $11.45 (median) in 2007 (14).

Seventeen percent of aides were

extremely satisfied with their salaries,

and 43.5% were somewhat satisfied with

their salaries, while 37.8% were

somewhat or extremely dissatisfied.

Most aides reported working for

agencies that offered a variety of

benefits, including health insurance and

paid time off. The most common benefit

aides reported was health insurance.

Although 72.7% of aides worked for

agencies that offered health insurance,

only 37.5% of aides enrolled in the

employer plan. Most aides whose

agency did not offer health insurance or

did not enroll in the agency plan were

covered by a spouse’s plan, purchased

coverage on their own, or were covered

by a government plan. Almost one-fifth

of aides were not covered by any health

insurance (18.5%) compared with 15%

of the population nationwide in 2007

(13). Among those aides offered health

insurance by their employer, 11.9%

were not covered by any other plan. The

Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111–148)

expands insurance coverage and makes

coverage more affordable. Thus, home

health aides who are currently uninsured

may have the opportunity to obtain

health insurance. NHHAS data provide a

baseline of the prevalence of health

insurance coverage among home health

aides prior to implementation of the new

law.

More than one-half of aides worked

for agencies that they reported offered

some type of paid time off, including

paid vacation or personal days (59.1%),

paid holidays (51.2%), or sick leave

(50.5%). Other common benefits

included extra pay for working holidays

(62.0%); dental, vision, or drug benefits

(56.0%); and/or disability or life

insurance (53.2%). While over one-half

of aides reported that they were either

extremely (28.5%) or somewhat satisfied

(28.9%) with the job benefits, 37.8%

were either somewhat or extremely

dissatisfied.

More than one-half of aides had

received TANF, WIC, or food stamps at

some point prior to the NHHAS, and

one-tenth of aides were receiving

benefits from one or more of those

programs at the time of the survey.

Forty percent of aides had received WIC

at some point prior to the NHHAS, and

4.8% were receiving WIC at the time of

the survey, compared with 3.4% of

women of childbearing age (15–44

years) in 2007, based on national

population estimates and WIC program

data (15). Among aides, 41.8% had

received food stamps prior to the

NHHAS, and 6.7% were receiving food

stamps at time of the survey, compared

with 7.7% of U.S households in 2007

that received food stamps or benefits

from the Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program (SNAP), as reported

by the Department of Commerce (16).

Since the percentages presented in this

report are calculated with a denominator

including all aides, not just aides

eligible for these benefits, these

percentages underestimate the

percentage of qualified aides receiving

benefits.

In 2007, home health aides were

experienced and committed to the field

of home health care and to their current

job. One-half of all aides had worked as

an aide for 10 years or more, and 15.0%

had worked as an aide for more than 20

years. Seventy-two percent of aides

would definitely become an aide

again—a measure of commitment to the

field of home health care, and 84.5%

would probably or definitely take their

current job again—a measure of

commitment to their current job. Older

home health aides were more likely than

younger aides to say they would become

an aide again. Virtually all aides felt

their work was very important (96.5%),

but their perception of how others

valued their work varied. Slightly over

three-quarters of aides felt that their

supervisor valued their work very much,

and aides felt that 66.3% of the

organizations they work for value their

work very much.

Recent legislation, including the

Affordable Care Act and the American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L.

111–5), included provisions to fund

training for direct care workers in

long-term care settings. Most aides had

both initial training and continuing

education. More than 80% of aides

received some initial training, and of

those, 82.0% felt this training left them

well-prepared for the reality of working

in home health care. Over 90% of aides

received some continuing education in

the 2 years prior to the NHHAS, and

79.1% of those aides found the training

very useful.

Home health aides’ reasons for

becoming and staying aides were

predominantly practical but varied by

age. The most common reasons cited for

becoming an aide were related both to

interest in health care (wanting to

become a nurse) and pragmatic interests

(jobs were close to home and job was

steady and secure). Life and family

experiences were also commonly cited

reasons for becoming aides: either the

aide provided care to family or friends,
Page 8	 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

or family or friends were also aides. The

reasons that aides cited most frequently

for continuing to work in their current

job included career advancement

opportunities, the opportunity to work

overtime, working with a care team, and

enjoying caring for others. Aides under

age 25 were more likely than older

aides to say they stayed in their jobs

because of opportunities for career

advancement but less likely to stay

because of the opportunity to work

overtime. Almost 90% of aides were

either extremely or somewhat satisfied

with their current job, but their level of

satisfaction varied by aspect. While

more than one-half of aides were

extremely satisfied with opportunities

for doing challenging work (59.1%) and

with learning new skills (56.0%), only

28.5% were extremely satisfied with

their benefits, and 17.2% were

extremely satisfied with their salary. The

majority thought the number of hours

they worked was about right (69.6%)

and that they either had more than

enough or enough time to provide ADL

assistance to their patients (93.4%).

The picture that emerges from this

analysis is of a financially vulnerable

workforce, with low family income, a

large percentage that currently or

previously received public benefits,

almost one-fifth without health

insurance, and more than 1 in 10 having

a least one work-related injury in the

past year. At the same time, the majority

of aides are satisfied with their job

overall, would definitely become an aide

again, and feel the work they do is

valuable and rewarding. In light of the

projected demand for home health aides,

these findings from the NHHAS may be

useful in informing initiatives to train,

recruit, and retain these direct care

workers.

References

1.U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, U.S. Department of

Labor. The future supply of longterm care workers in relation to the

aging baby boom generation: Report

to Congress. Washington, DC. 2003.

Available from: http://aspe.hhs.gov/

daltcp/reports/ltcwork.htm [Accessed

7/12/10].

2.U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of

Labor Statistics. Selected

occupational projections data.

Available from: http://data.bls.gov/

oep/noeted [Accessed 1/31/11].

3.Institute of Medicine of the National

Academies. Retooling for an aging

America: Building the health care

workforce. Washington, DC: The

National Academies Press. 2008.

4.Hewitt A, Larson S, Edelstein S,

Seavey D, Hoge MA, Morris J. A

synthesis of direct service workforce

demographics and challenges across

intellectual/developmental

disabilities, aging, physical

disabilities, and behavioral health.

National Direct Service Workforce

Resource Center. 2008. Available

from: http://www.directcare

clearinghouse.org/l_art_det.jsp?

res_id=292110 [Accessed 7/12/10].

5.U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of

Labor Statistics. Occupational

outlook handbook, 2010-11 edition.

Available from: http://www.bls.gov/

oco/ocos326.htm [Accessed

7/12/10].

6.Stone RI, Wiener JM. Who will care

for us? Addressing the long-term care

workforce crisis. Urban Institute and

American Association of Homes and

Services for the Aging. 2001.

Available from: http://www.urban.

org/publications/310304.html

[Accessed 7/12/10].

7.Bercovitz A, Moss AJ, Sengupta M,

et al. Design and operation of the

National Home Health Aide Survey:

2007–2008. National Center for

Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat

1(49). 2010.

8.Research Triangle Institute.

SUDAAN (Release 9.1.1). Research

Triangle Park, NC. 2005.

9.Yamada Y. Profile of home care

aides, nursing home aides, and

hospital aides: Historical changes and

data recommendations. Gerontologist

42(2):199–206. 2002.

10. Montgomery RJ, Holley L, Deichert

J, Kosloski K. A profile of home care

workers from the 2000 census: How

it changes what we know.

Gerontologist 45(5):593–600. 2005.

11. U.S. Census Bureau. Population

estimates: National - characteristics:

National sex, race, and Hispanic

origin. Table 3: Annual estimates of

the population by sex, race and

Hispanic origin for the United States:

April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007.

Available from: http://www.census.

gov/popest/national/asrh/NCEST2007-srh.html [Accessed

7/12/10].

12. Crissey SR. Educational attainment

in the United States: 2007. Current

population reports, P20–560.

Washington, DC: U.S. Census

Bureau. 2009. Available from:

http://www.census.gov/prod/

2009pubs/p20-560.pdf [Accessed

7/12/10].

13. DeNavas-Walt C, Proctor BD, Smith

JC. Income, poverty, and health

insurance coverage in the United

States: 2007. Current population

reports, P60–235. Washington, DC:

U.S. Census Bureau. 2008. Available

from: http://www.census.gov/prod/

2007pubs/p60-233.pdf [Accessed

7/12/10].

14. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of

Labor Statistics. Occupational

employment statistics: May 2007

national occupational employment

and wage estimates, United States.

2007. Available from: http://www.

bls.gov/oes/2007/may/oes_nat.htm

[Accessed 7/12/10].

15. U.S. Department of Agriculture. WIC

program monthly data: Special

supplemental nutrition program for

women, infants and children

(WIC)—2007. Available from:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/

37WIC_Monthly.htm [Accessed

7/12/10].

16. Loveless TA. Food stamp/

supplemental nutrition assistance

program (SNAP) receipt in the past

12 months for households: 2008

American Community Survey.

American Community Survey

reports, ACSBR/08–8. Washington,

DC: U.S. Census Bureau. 2009.

Available from: http://www.census.

gov/prod/2009pubs/acsbr08-8.pdf

[Accessed 7/12/10].

17. Dwyer LL, Harris-Kojetin LD,

Branden L, Shimizu IM. Redesign

and operation of the National Home

and Hospice Care Survey, 2007.

National Center for Health Statistics.

Vital Health Stat 1(53). 2010.
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011 Page 9

Table 1. Employer and aide characteristics of currently employed home health aides: United States, 2007

All home health aides

Standard Percent Standard

Characteristic Number error distribution error

All home health aides1 ............................. 160,700 11,479 100.0 . . .

Employer characteristic

Type of care provided:

Home health care only ............................ 119,200 11,329 74.2 2.6

Hospice care only............................... 20,000 1,605 12.4 1.3

Home health and hospice care....................... 21,500 3,372 13.4 2.2

Ownership:

Proprietary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101,700 10,833 63.3 4.1

Voluntary nonprofit .............................. 51,400 6,630 32.0 3.9

Government and other ............................ †7,600 †2,417 †4.7 †1.5

Geographic region:

Northeast .................................... 23,600 3,979 14.7 2.6

Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,400 7,529 30.8 4.2

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,600 10,541 47.0 4.7

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,100 2,340 7.5 1.6

Location:

Metropolitan statistical area2 ........................ 135,000 11,251 84.0 1.7

Micropolitan statistical area3 ........................ 16,700 2,120 10.4 1.4

Other location ................................. 9,000 1,276 5.6 0.9

Chain affiliation:

Part of a chain................................. 48,100 6,857 30.0 4.0

Not part of a chain .............................. 112,600 11,014 70.0 4.0

Aide characteristic

Age at time of interview:

Under 25 years ................................ 8,200 1,789 5.1 1.1

25–34 years .................................. 25,600 3,286 15.9 1.8

35–44 years .................................. 36,100 3,379 22.5 1.8

45–54 years .................................. 47,900 4,775 29.8 2.0

55 years and over .............................. 42,900 5,062 26.7 2.0

Sex:

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152,700 11,032 95.0 0.9

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,000 1,608 5.0 0.9

Race:

White ...................................... 85,700 7,624 53.3 3.3

Black ...................................... 56,100 6,889 34.9 3.4

Other4 .................. .................. 18,900 3,514 11.8 1.9

Hispanic or Latino origin:

Hispanic or Latino............................... 13,000 2,717 8.1 1.7

Not Hispanic or Latino ............................ 144,900 10,980 90.2 1.8

Education:

No high school diploma or GED certificate5 ............... 11,500 2,349 7.1 1.4

GED certificate5 ................................ 22,900 3,258 14.2 1.7

High school diploma ............................. 60,600 5,563 37.7 2.4

Some college or trade school ....................... 54,100 5,004 33.7 1.9

College graduate or postgraduate ..................... 9,400 2,361 5.9 1.4

Marital status:

Married or living with partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,800 6,329 50.3 2.6

Widowed, divorced, or separated ..................... 51,400 5,314 32.0 2.3

Never married ................................. 26,300 3,888 16.4 2.0

Citizenship:

U.S. citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151,300 10,985 94.1 1.3

By birth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135,500 10,586 84.3 2.2

By naturalization ............................... 15,800 3,377 9.8 2.2

Not U.S. citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,200 1,785 4.5 1.1

See footnotes at end of table.
Page 10 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

Table 1. Employer and aide characteristics of currently employed home health aides: United States, 2007—Con.

All home health aides

Standard Percent Standard

Characteristic Number error distribution error

Family income:

Less than $20,000 .............................. 34,500 4,441 21.5 2.2

$20,000–$29,999 ............................... 40,800 4,428 25.4 2.1

$30,000–$39,999 ............................... 32,900 3,625 20.5 1.7

$40,000–$49,999 ............................... 17,300 2,743 10.8 1.5

$50,000 or more ............................... 26,700 3,202 16.6 1.8

Unknown .................................... 8,400 2,000 5.2 1.1

. . . Category not applicable.

† Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or 

more. 1

Includes home health aides currently employed by agencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both types of services, and currently serve or recently served home 

health or hospice care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker services or housekeeping services, assistance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and 

supplies were excluded from the survey. 2

A county or group of contiguous counties that contains at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population and may contain other counties that are economically and socially integrated with 

the central county as measured by commuting. 3

A nonmetropolitan county or group of contiguous nonmetropolitan counties that contains an urban cluster of 10,000 to 49,999 persons and may include surrounding counties if there are strong 

economic ties between the counties, based on commuting patterns. 4

Includes Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiple races. 5

General Educational Development credential given to persons who passed tests deemed equivalent to high school-level academic skills. 

NOTES: Numbers may not add to totals and percent distributions may not add to 100% because of rounding, or because totals and percent distributions include a category of unknowns not

reported in the table. Unknowns are included as a separate row in the table if the overall percentage is 5% or greater. For age, race, and sex, unknown responses were imputed, and less than 5%

of responses were unknown. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007.
National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011 Page 11

me health aide for currently employed home health aides, by age, sex, and race: United States, 2007

All home Under 25–34 35–44 45–54 55 years

health aides 25 years years years years and over

Number (standard error)

............... 160,700 (11,479) 8,200 (1,789) 25,600 (3,285) 36,100 (3,378) 47,900 (4,775) 42,900 (5,061)

............... 129,100 (9,929) 6,500 (1,664) 20,600 (2,836) 29,200 (3,078) 38,400 (4,073) 34,400 (4,663)

............... 128,700 (10,210) 6,700 (1,678) 20,600 (3,126) 28,700 (2,873) 40,300 (4,551) 32,300 (4,192)

............... 123,200 (9,657) 5,000 (1,224) 20,800 (3,182) 27,200 (2,934) 38,100 (4,274) 32,100 (4,485)

............... 122,500 (8,709) 5,900 (1,401) 18,900 (2,539) 29,700 (3,150) 36,000 (3,790) 32,000 (3,636)

ients or the elderly . . . 121,900 (9,696) 6,700 (1,719) 19,800 (2,776) 28,300 (3,137) 36,700 (4,209) 30,400 (3,910)

............... 119,200 (8,784) 6,600 (1,579) 21,000 (3,139) 27,000 (2,982) 33,900 (3,605) 30,600 (3,962)

............... 102,600 (8,823) 4,200 (1,205) 16,300 (2,843) 23,200 (2,852) 31,000 (3,621) 28,000 (4,278)

............... 98,800 (8,257) 4,900 (1,406) 16,900 (2,877) 21,800 (2,694) 31,100 (3,594) 24,200 (3,851)

............... 94,900 (7,359) 4,700 (1,197) 17,900 (3,015) 22,400 (2,692) 27,400 (3,214) 22,400 (3,265)

............... 94,500 (8,065) 3,900 (1,053) 17,600 (2,537) 20,200 (2,612) 27,800 (3,610) 25,100 (3,886)

............... 91,400 (7,778) 5,000 (1,292) 15,000 (2,136) 21,500 (2,752) 27,900 (3,709) 22,100 (3,229)

............... 89,400 (6,671) 5,500 (1,334) 12,600 (1,831) 23,000 (2,659) 24,800 (2,912) 23,500 (3,640)

............... 66,700 (7,108) †1,800 (769) 6,700 (1,449) 13,800 (2,167) 22,500 (3,443) 21,900 (3,682)

Percent (standard error)

............... 80.3 (1.8) 79.4 (8.0) 80.6 (3.8) 80.7 (3.7) 80.1 (3.1) 80.3 (3.7)

............... 80.0 (2.1) 81.6 (7.5) 80.5 (4.5) 79.4 (4.6) 84.2 (2.7) 75.4 (4.1)

............... 76.7 (1.7) 60.9 (8.7) 81.0 (4.0) 75.4 (4.2) 79.5 (3.0) 75.0 (3.9)

............... 76.2 (1.8) 71.7 (7.3) 74.0 (6.4) 82.1 (3.3) 75.1 (3.3) 74.7 (3.4)

ients or the elderly . . . 75.8 (1.9) 81.7 (6.6) 77.4 (4.7) 78.2 (3.7) 76.6 (3.3) 70.9 (4.3)

............... 74.1 (2.0) 81.0 (8.0) 82.0 (3.7) 74.8 (3.9) 70.7 (3.9) 71.5 (4.6)

............... 63.8 (2.3) 50.9 (9.6) 63.8 (6.3) 64.1 (4.7) 64.6 (3.5) 65.3 (4.5)

............... 61.5 (2.0) 59.5 (11.0) 66.1 (5.3) 60.2 (5.1) 64.8 (3.8) 56.4 (4.6)

............... 59.0 (2.2) 57.2 (8.7) 70.0 (4.9) 62.0 (4.8) 57.2 (3.5) 52.3 (4.5)

............... 58.8 (2.4) 47.3 (9.5) 68.5 (4.3) 55.9 (5.0) 58.0 (4.5) 58.6 (4.6)

............... 56.9 (2.4) 60.6 (8.3) 58.4 (5.4) 59.4 (5.2) 58.2 (4.5) 51.6 (4.3)

............... 55.6 (2.1) 67.1 (8.1) 49.1 (6.5) 63.6 (4.4) 51.6 (4.3) 54.9 (5.5)

............... 41.5 (2.9) †22.2 (7.7) 26.1 (4.5) 38.2 (5.1) 46.9 (5.0) 51.1 (5.8)
Page 12 National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011

me health aide for currently employed home health aides, by age, sex, and race: United States, 2007—Con.

Female Male White Black Other2

Number (standard error)

............... 152,700 (11,032) 8,000 (1,607) 85,700 (7,623) 56,100 (6,889) 18,900 (3,514)

............... 123,100 (9,436) 6,000 (1,457) 69,100 (6,495) 45,200 (6,200) 14,700 (2,779)

............... 123,900 (10,035) 4,800 (1,179) 69,900 (6,843) 45,200 (5,781) 13,500 (3,010)

............... 117,300 (9,351) 5,900 (1,424) 66,300 (6,226) 41,500 (5,900) 15,300 (3,363)

............... 116,200 (8,256) 6,300 (1,457) 64,000 (5,971) 42,700 (5,508) 15,700 (3,303)

ients or the elderly . . . 115,700 (9,396) 6,200 (1,407) 63,700 (6,123) 43,900 (6,185) 14,300 (3,228)

............... 112,000 (8,506) 7,200 (1,490) 62,700 (6,000) 42,700 (5,523) 13,800 (2,551)

............... 97,200 (8,532) 5,500 (1,375) 52,300 (5,098) 37,600 (5,279) 12,800 (3,083)

............... 94,100 (8,122) 4,800 (1,182) 51,200 (5,209) 37,900 (5,400) 9,700 (2,315)

............... 90,500 (7,104) 4,400 (1,184) 49,300 (5,063) 35,000 (5,059) 10,600 (2,896)

............... 90,700 (7,928) 3,900 (1,086) 49,100 (5,128) 32,500 (4,789) 13,000 (3,188)

............... 86,900 (7,700) †4,500 (1,231) 45,700 (4,629) 33,600 (4,498) 12,100 (3,076)

............... 85,300 (6,526) 4,100 (1,021) 45,700 (4,290) 31,800 (4,407) 11,900 (2,566)

............... 62,500 (6,778) †4,200 (1,114) 35,300 (3,949) 21,600 (4,139) 9,800 (2,843)

Percent (standard error)

............... 80.6 (1.8) 75.1 (8.3) 80.7 (2.2) 80.6 (3.4) 77.8 (6.5)

............... 81.1 (2.1) 59.5 (10.6) 81.7 (2.3) 80.6 (3.2) 71.2 (7.9)

............... 76.8 (1.8) 74.0 (8.8) 77.4 (2.2) 74.0 (3.6) 81.1 (5.5)

............... 76.1 (1.8) 78.8 (7.9) 74.7 (2.9) 76.1 (4.0) 83.1 (5.3)

ients or the elderly . . . 75.7 (2.0) 77.4 (8.4) 74.3 (2.3) 78.3 (3.5) 75.4 (7.3)

............... 73.3 (2.0) 90.0 (7.6) 73.2 (2.7) 76.0 (3.8) 72.7 (6.0)

............... 63.6 (2.4) 68.3 (9.5) 61.0 (2.8) 67.0 (4.2) 67.4 (8.5)

............... 61.6 (2.2) 59.5 (10.7) 59.8 (2.7) 67.6 (3.8) 51.2 (7.6)

............... 59.3 (2.2) 54.6 (10.5) 57.6 (2.9) 62.3 (3.7) 56.0 (8.8)

............... 59.4 (2.5) 48.3 (10.4) 57.3 (3.1) 57.9 (4.4) 68.5 (7.8)

............... 56.9 (2.6) †55.8 (10.5) 53.4 (2.7) 59.8 (4.2) 64.0 (8.5)

............... 55.8 (2.0) 50.8 (10.5) 53.3 (2.3) 56.6 (4.6) 62.8 (6.4)

............... 40.9 (2.8) †52.9 (10.2) 41.2 (3.1) 38.6 (5.5) 51.7 (9.0)

recision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or more.

gencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both types of services, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice care patients. Agencies that provided only

tance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were excluded from the survey.

ander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiple races.

s were unknown; in this table, these unknowns were treated as ‘‘no’’ responses. For age, race, and sex, unknown responses were imputed, and less than 5% of responses were unknown. Percentages

urvey, 2007.
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011 Page 13

Table 3. Employer and aide characteristics of currently employed home health aides, by whether they would become a home health aide

again: United States, 2007

Probably become one,

All home Definitely probably or definitely

Characteristic health aides become one not become one

Number (standard error) Percent distribution (standard error)

All home health aides1 ...................... 160,700 (11,479) 100.0 72.2 (2.2) 27.8 (2.2)

Employer characteristic

Type of care provided:

Home health care only .................... 119200 (11,329) 100.0 71.7 (2.9) 28.2 (2.9)

Hospice care only ....................... 20,000 (1,605) 100.0 75.9 (2.6) 24.1 (2.6)

Home health and hospice care ............... 21,500 (3,372) 100.0 71.3 (2.9) 28.7 (2.9)

Ownership:

Proprietary ............................ 101,700 (10,833) 100.0 70.2 (3.1) 29.8 (3.1)

Voluntary nonprofit ....................... 51,400 (6,630) 100.0 76.0 (3.1) 24.0 (3.1)

Government and other..................... †7,600 †(2,417) 100.0 73.3 (3.5) 26.7 (3.5)

Geographic region:

Northeast............................. 23,600 (3,979) 100.0 73.3 (3.5) 26.7 (3.5)

Midwest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,400 (7,529) 100.0 65.2 (4.8) 34.8 (4.8)

South ............................... 75,600 (10,541) 100.0 77.2 (3.0) 22.8 (3.0)

West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,100 (2,340) 100.0 67.3 (5.6) 32.7 (5.6)

Location:

Metropolitan statistical area2 ................. 135,000 (11,251) 100.0 72.6 (2.6) 27.4 (2.6)

Micropolitan statistical area3 ................. 16,700 (2,120) 100.0 68.0 (3.1) 31.9 (3.1)

Other location .......................... 9,000 (1,276) 100.0 74.0 (2.6) 26.0 (2.6)

Chain affiliation:

Part of a chain ......................... 48,100 (6,857) 100.0 69.8 (3.9) 30.1 (3.9)

Not part of a chain ....................... 112,600 (11,014) 100.0 73.2 (2.7) 26.8 (2.7)

Aide characteristic

Age at time of interview:

Under 25 years ......................... 8,200 (1,789) 100.0 49.9 (10.5) †50.1 (10.5)

25–34 years ........................... 25,600 (3,286) 100.0 69.4 (4.9) 30.6 (4.9)

35–44 years ........................... 36,100 (3,379) 100.0 71.3 (4.5) 28.7 (4.5)

45–54 years ........................... 47,900 (4,775) 100.0 76.3 (3.4) 23.7 (3.4)

55 years and over ....................... 42,900 (5,062) 100.0 74.3 (4.5) 25.7 (4.5)

Sex:

Female .............................. 152,700 (11,032) 100.0 72.3 (2.2) 27.7 (2.2)

Male................................ 8,000 (1,608) 100.0 70.9 (9.8) †29.1 (9.8)

Race:

White ............................... 85,700 (7,624) 100.0 71.1 (3.1) 28.8 (3.1)

Black ............................... 56,100 (6,889) 100.0 75.6 (3.6) 24.4 (3.6)

Other4 ............... ............... 18,900 (3,514) 100.0 67.0 (6.1) 33.0 (6.1)

Hispanic or Latino origin:

Hispanic or Latino ....................... 13,000 (2,717) 100.0 82.3 (5.8) †17.7 (5.8)

Not Hispanic or Latino ..................... 144,900 (10,980) 100.0 71.1 (2.3) 28.9 (2.3)

Education:

No high school diploma or GED certificate5 ........ 11,500 (2,349) 100.0 86.7 (5.6) * *

GED certificate5 ............ ............ 22,900 (3,258) 100.0 73.2 (5.6) 26.8 (5.6)

High school diploma ...................... 60,600 (5,563) 100.0 74.4 (3.1) 25.6 (3.1)

Some college or trade school ................ 54,100 (5,004) 100.0 66.6 (3.7) 33.4 (3.7)

College graduate or postgraduate.............. 9,400 (2,361) 100.0 69.0 (10.3) †31.0 (10.3)

Marital status:

Married or living with partner ................. 80,800 (6,329) 100.0 70.7 (3.1) 29.3 (3.1)

Widowed, divorced, or separated .............. 51,400 (5,314) 100.0 77.6 (3.5) 22.4 (3.5)

Never married .......................... 26,300 (3,888) 100.0 65.8 (5.9) 34.2 (5.9)

Citizenship:

U.S. citizen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151,300 (10,985) 100.0 71.8 (2.3) 28.2 (2.3)

By birth .............................. 135,500 (10,586) 100.0 71.1 (2.3) 28.8 (2.3)

By naturalization ........................ 15,800 (3,377) 100.0 77.3 (6.6) †22.7 (6.6)

Not U.S. citizen ......................... 7,200 (1,785) 100.0 78.8 (7.5) * *

See footnotes at end of table.
Page 14 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

Table 3. Employer and aide characteristics of currently employed home health aides, by whether they would become a home health aide

again: United States, 2007—Con.

Characteristic

All home

health aides

Definitely

become one

Probably become one,

probably or definitely

not become one

Number (standard error) Percent distribution (standard error)

Family income:

Less than $20,000 .......................

$20,000–$29,999 ........................

$30,000–$39,999 ........................

$40,000–$49,999 ........................

$50,000 or more ........................

Unknown .............................

34,500 (4,441)

40,800 (4,428)

32,900 (3,625)

17,300 (2,743)

26,700 (3,202)

8,400 (2,000)

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

68.2 (5.4)

75.8 (4.0)

73.0 (5.3)

75.3 (6.6)

70.9 (5.2)

†65.7 (10.5)

31.8

24.1

27.0

24.7

29.1

†34.3

(5.4)

(4.0)

(5.3)

(6.6)

(5.2)

(10.5)

† Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or 

more. 

* Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is fewer than 30. 1

Includes home health aides currently employed by agencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both types of services, and currently serve or recently served home 

health or hospice care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker services or housekeeping services, assistance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and

supplies were excluded from the survey. 2

A county or group of contiguous counties that contains at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population and may contain other counties that are economically and socially integrated with

the central county as measured by commuting. 3

A nonmetropolitan county or group of contiguous nonmetropolitan counties that contains an urban cluster of 10,000 to 49,999 persons and may include surrounding counties if there are strong 

economic ties between the counties, based on commuting patterns. 4

Includes Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiple races. 5

General Educational Development credential given to persons who passed tests deemed equivalent to high school-level academic skills. 

NOTES: Numbers may not add to totals and percent distributions may not add to 100% because of rounding, or because totals and percent distributions include a category of unknowns not

reported in the table. Unknowns are included as a separate row in the table if the overall percentage is 5% or greater. For age, race, and sex, unknown responses were imputed and less than 5%

of responses were unknown. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007.
National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011 Page 15

continuing education of currently employed home health aides, by employer and aide characteristics: United States, 2007

All home health aides Received initial training Took continuing education classes in the past 2 years

Standard Percent Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard

Number error distribution error Number error Percent error Number error Percent error

..... 160,700 (11,479) 100.0 . . . 134,900 (10,166) 83.9 (1.9) 146,300 (11,137) 91.0 (1.8)

..... 119,200 (11,329) 74.2 (2.6) 98,800 (9,979) 82.9 (2.5) 107,100 (10,950) 89.8 (2.4)

..... 20,000 (1,605) 12.4 (1.3) 17,300 (1,465) 86.6 (1.9) 18,700 (1,583) 93.4 (1.3)

..... 21,500 (3,372) 13.4 (2.2) 18,700 (3,071) 87.1 (3.0) 20,500 (3,314) 95.4 (2.0)

..... 101,700 (10,833) 63.3 (4.1) 84,800 (9,375) 83.3 (2.6) 89,300 (10,257) 87.8 (2.7)

..... 59,000 (6,960) 36.7 (4.1) 50,100 (6,348) 84.9 (2.8) 57,000 (6,947) 96.5 (0.7)

..... 23,600 (3,979) 14.7 (2.6) 21,400 (3,732) 90.8 (2.8) 22,500 (3,951) 95.5 (1.7)

..... 49,400 (7,529) 30.8 (4.2) 39,900 (6,637) 80.7 (3.7) 44,100 (7,017) 89.2 (3.6)

. . . . . 75,600 (10,541) 47.0 (4.7) 63,800 (9,116) 84.5 (3.0) 69,600 (10,152) 92.1 (2.0)

..... 12,100 (2,340) 7.5 (1.6) 9,700 (1,600) 80.2 (6.8) 10,000 (1,670) 82.8 (11.5)

..... 135,000 (11,251) 84.0 (1.7) 113,600 (9,982) 84.1 (2.3) 124,000 (10,989) 91.8 (2.1)

.... 16,700 (2,120) 10.4 (1.4) 13,500 (1,697) 80.7 (3.0) 14,400 (1,774) 85.9 (2.9)

..... 9,000 (1,276) 5.6 (0.9) 7,800 (1,208) 86.8 (2.7) 7,900 (962) 88.1 (3.1)

..... 48,100 (6,857) 30.0 (4.0) 38,700 (5,463) 80.5 (3.8) 45,400 (6,719) 94.4 (1.7)

..... 112,600 (11,014) 70.0 (4.0) 96,100 (9,935) 85.4 (2.2) 100,800 (10,496) 89.6 (2.4)

.....

..... 8,200 (1,789) 5.1 (1.1) 6,200 (1,596) 76.3 (7.8) 6,300 (1,575) 76.5 (8.2)

..... 25,600 (3,286) 15.9 (1.8) 19,100 (2,832) 74.4 (4.9) 23,600 (3,215) 92.0 (3.2)

..... 36,100 (3,379) 22.5 (1.8) 32,400 (3,345) 89.6 (2.5) 34,000 (3,348) 94.2 (2.3)

..... 47,900 (4,775) 29.8 (2.0) 40,700 (4,189) 84.8 (3.4) 44,000 (4,627) 91.8 (2.7)

..... 42,900 (5,062) 26.7 (2.0) 36,500 (4,567) 85.2 (3.7) 38,400 (4,692) 89.7 (4.1)

..... 152,700 (11,032) 95.0 (0.9) 128,100 (9,914) 83.9 (2.1) 138,800 (10,703) 90.9 (1.9)

..... 8,000 (1,608) 5.0 (0.9) 6,800 (1,474) 84.7 (7.8) 7,500 (1,565) 94.0 (3.0)

..... 85,700 (7,624) 53.3 (3.3) 67,700 (6,341) 79.1 (2.8) 76,600 (7,041) 89.4 (2.6)

..... 56,100 (6,889) 34.9 (3.4) 49,200 (6,120) 87.6 (3.0) 51,900 (6,743) 92.5 (2.5)

..... 18,900 (3,514) 11.8 (1.9) 18,000 (3,457) 95.1 (2.4) 17,700 (3,480) 93.8 (2.9)

..... 13,000 (2,717) 8.1 (1.7) 11,600 (2,525) 88.9 (4.8) 10,600 (2,160) 80.9 (7.0)

..... 144,900 (10,980) 90.2 (1.8) 120,900 (9,678) 83.4 (2.1) 133,300 (10,646) 92.0 (1.7)

..... 11,500 (2,349) 7.1 (1.4) 11,000 (2,344) 96.1 (1.3) 10,000 (2,243) 86.8 (6.6)

..... 22,900 (3,258) 14.2 (1.7) 18,900 (2,998) 82.4 (5.8) 19,600 (2,737) 85.4 (4.8)

..... 60,600 (5,563) 37.7 (2.4) 49,300 (5,207) 81.4 (3.6) 55,300 (5,512) 91.3 (2.5)

..... 54,100 (5,004) 33.7 (1.9) 45,400 (4,515) 83.9 (3.3) 50,700 (4,809) 93.7 (1.8)

..... 9,400 (2,361) 5.9 (1.4) 8,400 (2,091) 88.8 (6.1) 8,900 (2,340) 94.0 (4.2)
Page 16 National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011

continuing education of currently employed home health aides, by employer and aide characteristics: United States, 2007—Con.

All home health aides Received initial training Took continuing education classes in the past 2 years

Standard Percent Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard

Number error distribution error Number error Percent error Number error Percent error

..... 80,800 (6,329) 50.3 (2.6) 67,400 (5,666) 83.4 (2.5) 74,600 (6,198) 92.3 (1.9)

..... 51,400 (5,314) 32.0 (2.3) 43,500 (4,840) 84.7 (3.4) 46,400 (4,887) 90.4 (3.5)

..... 26,300 (3,888) 16.4 (2.0) 22,100 (3,628) 84.0 (3.8) 23,400 (3,803) 88.9 (3.7)

..... 151,300 (10,985) 94.1 (1.3) 126,100 (9,637) 83.4 (2.0) 137,200 (10,590) 90.7 (1.9)

..... 135,500 (10,586) 84.3 (2.4) 111,700 (9,230) 82.4 (2.2) 122,100 (10,062) 90.1 (2.0)

..... 15,800 (3,377) 9.8 (2.0) 14,500 (2,836) 91.7 (4.3) 15,100 (3,370) 95.8 (2.3)

. . . . . 7,200 (1,785) 4.5 (1.1) 6,900 (1,780) 95.3 (2.8) 7,200 (1,785) 99.5 (0.3)

..... 34,500 (4,441) 21.5 (2.2) 28,800 (3,672) 83.3 (4.3) 29,200 (4,126) 84.5 (3.8)

..... 40,800 (4,428) 25.4 (2.1) 34,800 (3,827) 85.3 (3.6) 38,700 (4,388) 94.8 (1.3)

..... 32,900 (3,625) 20.5 (1.7) 28,800 (3,396) 87.6 (3.5) 29,500 (3,416) 89.8 (4.4)

..... 17,300 (2,743) 10.8 (1.5) 13,900 (2,577) 79.9 (5.5) 16,200 (2,692) 93.4 (3.8)

..... 26,700 (3,202) 16.6 (1.8) 21,200 (2,695) 79.4 (4.3) 25,000 (3,136) 93.7 (2.5)

..... 8,400 (2,000) 5.2 (1.1) 7,400 (1,900) 87.8 (7.3) 7,600 (1,900) 90.5 (5.6)

gencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both types of services, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice care patients. Agencies that provided only

tance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were excluded from the survey.

ns at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population and may contain other counties that are economically and socially integrated with the central county as measured by commuting.

nmetropolitan counties that contains an urban cluster of 10,000 to 49,999 persons and may include surrounding counties if there are strong economic ties between the counties, based on commuting

ander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiple races.

o persons who passed tests deemed equivalent to high school-level academic skills.

distributions may not add to 100% because of rounding, or because totals and percent distributions include a category of unknowns not reported in the table. Unknowns are included as a separate row in

or age, race, and sex, unknown responses were imputed, and less than 5% of responses for were unknown. Percentages are based on the unrounded numbers.

urvey, 2007.
National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011 Page 17

g of currently employed home health aides, by employer, training, and aide characteristics: United States, 2007

Received initial training to become a home health aide

Somewhat or Somewhat or

not at not at

stic Total Well prepared all prepared Total Well prepared all prepared

Number (standard error) Percent distribution (standard error)

........................ 134,900 (10,166) 110,800 (8,954) 24,000 (3,291) 100.0 82.2 (2.1) 17.8 (2.1)

acteristic

........................ 98,800 (9,979) 82,200 (8,806) 16,600 (3,165) 100.0 83.2 (2.8) 16.8 (2.8)

........................ 17,300 (1,465) 13,400 (1,137) 4,000 (646) 100.0 77.1 (2.8) 22.9 (2.8)

........................ 18,700 (3,071) 15,300 (2,719) 3,400 (707) 100.0 81.6 (3.2) 18.1 (3.2)

........................ 84,800 (9,375) 71,800 (8,262) 12,900 (2,953) 100.0 84.7 (3.0) 15.3 (3.0)

........................ 50,100 (6,348) 39,000 (5,400) 11,100 (1,700) 100.0 77.8 (2.6) 22.1 (2.6)

........................ 21,400 (3,732) 17,800 (3,363) 3,500 (829) 100.0 83.3 (3.4) 16.4 (3.4)

........................ 39,900 (6,637) 31,400 (5,642) 8,500 (2,003) 100.0 78.7 (4.0) 21.3 (4.0)

........................ 63,800 (9,116) 53,400 (7,972) 10,400 (2,648) 100.0 83.7 (3.5) 16.3 (3.5)

........................ 9,700 (1,600) 8,200 (1,434) 1,600 (346) 100.0 83.8 (3.0) 16.2 (3.0)

........................ 113,600 (9,982) 94,000 (8,793) 19,600 (3,253) 100.0 82.7 (2.5) 17.2 (2.5)

........................ 13,500 (1,697) 11,000 (1,600) 2,500 (308) 100.0 81.8 (2.5) 18.2 (2.5)

........................ 7,800 (1,208) 5,800 (871) 2,000 (411) 100.0 74.5 (2.6) 25.5 (2.6)

........................ 38,700 (5,463) 31,900 (4,827) 6,800 (1,429) 100.0 82.4 (3.1) 17.6 (3.1)

........................ 96,100 (9,935) 78,900 (8,643) 17,200 (3,072) 100.0 82.1 (2.7) 17.9 (2.7)

acteristic

me a home health aide:

........................ 20,600 (3,018) 16,800 (2,891) 3,800 (976) 100.0 81.6 (4.7) 18.4 (4.7)

........................ 21,500 (2,766) 13,000 (2,096) 8,400 (1,715) 100.0 60.7 (6.1) 39.0 (6.1)

om study ................... 92,800 (7,849) 81,000 (7,184) 11,800 (1,892) 100.0 87.2 (1.8) 12.8 (1.8)

........................ 38,100 (4,342) 32,500 (4,056) 5,600 (1,292) 100.0 85.3 (3.2) 14.6 (3.2)

ility ...................... 24,100 (3,192) 20,400 (3,121) 3,700 (691) 100.0 84.5 (3.2) 15.5 (3.2)

ool or community college, or other4 . . . 72,700 (7,000) 58,000 (6,000) 14,700 (2,852) 100.0 80.0 (3.3) 20.2 (3.3)

cteristic

........................ 98,900 (8,491) 83,900 (7,752) 15,000 (2,060) 100.0 84.8 (1.9) 15.2 (1.9)

........................ 28,600 (3,255) 21,000 (2,624) 7,600 (1,857) 100.0 73.5 (5.3) 26.5 (5.3)

........................ 7,400 (2,101) †5,900 (2,056) †1,400 (510) 100.0 †80.0 (8.0) †19.3 (7.9)

recision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or more.

gencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both types of services, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice care patients. Agencies that provided only

tance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were excluded from the survey.

ns at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population and may contain other counties that are economically and socially integrated with the central county as measured by commuting.

nmetropolitan counties that contains an urban cluster of 10,000 to 49,999 persons and may include surrounding counties if there are strong economic ties between the counties, based on commuting

de the United States or county or state health departments.

urvey, 2007.
ucation for currently employed home health aides, by employer and training characteristics: United States, 2007

Took continuing education classes in the past 2 years

Somewhat Somewhat or

or not at not at

Total Very useful all useful Total Very useful all useful

Number (standard error) Percent distribution (standard error)

.......... 146,300 (11,137) 115,800 (9,385) 30,500 (4,072) 100.0 79.1 (2.3) 20.9 (2.3)

.......... 107,100 (10,950) 84,900 (9,259) 22,200 (3,939) 100.0 79.3 (3.0) 20.7 (3.0)

.......... 18,700 (1,583) 15,500 (1,368) 3,200 (490) 100.0 82.8 (2.2) 17.2 (2.2)

.......... 20,500 (3,314) 15,400 (2,461) 5,100 (1,150) 100.0 75.0 (3.3) 25.0 (3.3)

.......... 89,300 (10,257) 70,200 (8,441) 19,100 (3,724) 100.0 78.6 (3.3) 21.4 (3.3)

.......... 57,000 (6,947) 45,600 (6,066) 11,400 (1,901) 100.0 79.9 (2.8) 20.1 (2.8)

.......... 22,500 (3,951) 18,400 (3,304) 4,200 (1,106) 100.0 81.5 (3.6) 18.5 (3.6)

.......... 44,100 (7,017) 30,800 (5,538) 13,300 (3,049) 100.0 69.9 (5.3) 30.1 (5.3)

.......... 69,600 (10,152) 59,100 (8,624) 10,500 (2,734) 100.0 84.9 (3.0) 15.1 (3.0)

.......... 10,000 (1,670) 7,500 (1,367) 2,600 (583) 100.0 74.5 (4.5) 25.5 (4.5)

......... 124,000 (10,989) 99,000 (9,303) 25,000 (3,973) 100.0 79.8 (2.6) 20.2 (2.6)

......... 14,400 (1,774) 10,800 (1,229) 3,600 (804) 100.0 75.1 (3.6) 24.9 (3.6)

. . . . . . . . . . 7,900 (962) 6,000 (706) 1,900 (434) 100.0 76.1 (3.9) 23.9 (3.9)

.......... 45,400 (6,719) 34,400 (5,458) 11,100 (2,575) 100.0 75.7 (4.4) 24.3 (4.4)

.......... 100,800 (10,496) 81,400 (8,839) 19,400 (3,349) 100.0 80.7 (2.6) 19.3 (2.6)

..........

.......... 19,000 (2,857) 14,800 (2,511) 4,300 (1,201) 100.0 77.7 (5.5) 22.3 (5.5)

.......... 19,800 (2,578) 14,200 (2,099) 5,600 (1,465) 100.0 71.8 (6.1) 28.2 (6.1)

om study .... 87,000 (7,617) 71,700 (6,832) 15,300 (2,344) 100.0 82.4 (2.4) 17.6 (2.4)

.......... 36,200 (4,245) 27,500 (3,736) 8,700 (2,144) 100.0 75.9 (5.2) 24.1 (5.2)

ity ........ 21,200 (2,756) 17,500 (2,479) 3,700 (951) 100.0 82.7 (4.0) 17.3 (4.0)

ool or

.......... 68,500 (6,918) 55,700 (5,915) 12,800 (2,123) 100.0 81.4 (2.5) 18.7 (2.5)

.......... 107,400 (9,067) 92,600 (8,380) 14,800 (2,052) 100.0 86.2 (1.8) 13.8 (1.8)

.......... 30,600 (3,381) 19,500 (2,363) 11,100 (2,442) 100.0 63.7 (5.8) 36.3 (5.8)

.......... 8,300 (2,202) †3,700 (1,228) †4,600 (1,315) 100.0 †44.9 (7.7) †55.1 (7.7)

recision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or more.

gencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both types of services, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice care patients.

housekeeping services, assistance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were excluded from the survey.

ns at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population and may contain other counties that are economically and socially integrated with the central county as measured by commuting.

nmetropolitan counties that contains an urban cluster of 10,000 to 49,999 persons and may include surrounding counties if there are strong economic ties between the counties, based on commuting

ucation because some aides did not receive initial training.

de the United States or county or state health departments.

distributions may not add to 100% because of rounding, or because totals and percent distributions include a category of unknowns not reported in the table. Unknowns accounted for less than 5% of

Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

urvey, 2007.

Page 18 National Health Statistics Reportsn Number 34n May 19, 2011
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011 Page 19

Table 7. Preference in hours worked of currently employed home health aides, by employer characteristics: United States, 2007

Preference in number of hours worked

Hours worked Would prefer Would prefer

Characteristic All home health aides Total about right more hours fewer hours

Number (standard error) Percent distribution (standard error)

All home health aides1 ............................. 160,700 (11,479) 100.0 69.6 (2.0) 26.2 (2.0) †3.7 (1.1)

Type of care provided

Home health care only ............................. 119,200 (11,329) 100.0 67.2 (2.6) 28.9 (2.6) * *

Hospice care only ................................ 20,000 (1,605) 100.0 79.3 (2.2) 15.8 (1.9) †4.1 (1.2)

Home health and hospice care ........................ 21,500 (3,372) 100.0 73.6 (3.4) 21.4 (3.4) †4.7 (2.5)

Ownership

Proprietary .................................... 101,700 (10,833) 100.0 65.3 (2.8) 29.8 (2.9) †4.4 (1.7)

Voluntary nonprofit, government, and other ................ 59,000 (6,960) 100.0 77.0 (2.3) 20.2 (2.3) †2.5 (1.0)

Location

Metropolitan statistical area2

.......................... 135,000 (11,251) 100.0 68.9 (2.3) 26.6 (2.3) †4.0 (1.3)

Micropolitan statistical area3 . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,700 (2,120) 100.0 74.0 (3.6) 23.5 (3.3) †2.0 (0.7)

Neither ....................................... 9,000 (1,276) 100.0 71.3 (2.4) 25.5 (2.4) * *

Chain affiliation

Part of a chain .................................. 48,100 (6,857) 100.0 69.7 (3.0) 27.3 (3.1) * *

Not part of a chain................................ 112,600 (11,014) 100.0 69.5 (2.6) 25.8 (2.5) †4.4 (1.5)

† Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or 

more. 

* Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is fewer than 30. 1

Includes home health aides currently employed by agencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice 

care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker services or housekeeping services, assistance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were

excluded from the survey. 2

A county or group of contiguous counties that contains at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population and may contain other counties that are economically and socially integraed with

the central county as measured by commuting. 3

A nonmetropolitan county or group of contiguous nonmetropolitan counties that contains an urban cluster of 10,000–49,999 persons and may include surrounding counties if strong economic ties 

exist between the counties, based on commuting patterns. 

NOTES: Numbers may not add to totals and percent distributions may not add to 100% because of rounding, or because totals and percent distributions include a category of unknowns not

reported in the table. Unknowns accounted for less than 5% of responses for each category presented in this table. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007.
Page 20 National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011

atients with activities of daily living of currently employed home health aides, by employer characteristics: United States, 2007

Time for ADL1 assistance to patients

All home health aides More than enough time Enough time Not enough time

Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard

Number error Number error Percent error Number error Percent error Number error Percent error

160,700 11,479 65,800 6,467 40.9 2.4 84,400 6,742 52.5 2.5 7,800 1,779 4.8 1.1

119,200 11,329 50,800 6,406 42.6 3.1 59,600 6,394 50.0 3.1 †6,500 1,769 †5.5 1.5

20,000 1,605 8,800 898 44.0 2.5 10,600 991 53.0 2.5 †500 133 †2.6 0.7

21,500 3,372 6,100 979 28.5 3.9 14,200 2,726 65.9 4.1 †700 185 †3.4 1.0

101,700 10,833 43,700 5,821 43.0 3.1 50,200 5,845 49.3 3.0 †5,700 1,659 †5.6 1.6

. 59,000 6,960 22,100 3,659 37.4 3.9 34,200 4,578 58.0 4.2 †2,100 673 †3.5 1.1

135,000 11,251 56,600 6,382 41.9 2.8 68,800 6,575 51.0 2.9 †7,100 1,772 5.2 1.3

16,700 2,120 6,300 967 37.9 3.1 9,600 1,341 57.6 3.0 †600 161 †3.4 0.9

9,000 1,276 2,800 484 31.6 2.6 6,000 883 66.5 2.6 * * * *

48,100 6,857 17,400 2,824 36.1 3.0 27,300 4,346 56.7 4.3 †3,000 1,122 †6.3 2.1

112,600 11,014 48,400 6,289 43.0 3.1 57,100 6,045 50.7 3.0 †4,700 1,424 †4.2 1.3

recision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or more.

recision because the sample size is fewer than 30.

ting, transferring, and toileting.

gencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker

strumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were excluded from the survey.

ns at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population and may contain other counties that are economically and socially integrated with the central county as measured by commuting.

nmetropolitan counties that contains an urban cluster of 10,000–49,999 persons and may include surrounding counties if strong economic ties exist between the counties, based on commuting patterns.

distributions may not add to 100% because of rounding, or because totals and percent distributions include a category of unknowns not reported in the table. Unknowns accounted for less than 5% of

Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

urvey, 2007.
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011 Page 21

Table 9. Total time worked as a home health aide among currently employed home health aides, by employer and aide characteristics:

United States, 2007

Total time worked as home health aide

Fewer than 6–10 11 years

Characteristic All home health aides Total 5 years years or more

Number (standard error) Percent distribution (standard error)

All home health aides1 ............................. 160,700 (11,479) 100.0 29.6 (2.2) 20.4 (2.4) 50.0 (3.2)

Employer characteristic

Type of care provided:

Home health care only ............................ 119,200 (11,329) 100.0 30.4 (2.9) 19.9 (3.1) 49.6 (4.2)

Hospice care only............................... 20,000 (1,605) 100.0 31.6 (2.5) 20.0 (2.3) 48.4 (2.8)

Home health and hospice care....................... 21,500 (3,372) 100.0 22.9 (3.0) 23.5 (4.5) 53.6 (5.7)

Ownership:

Proprietary ................................... 101,700 (10,833) 100.0 34.6 (2.9) 22.4 (3.3) 43.0 (4.2)

Voluntary nonprofit, government, and other ............... 59,000 (6,960) 100.0 21.0 (2.7) 16.9 (3.1) 62.0 (3.9)

Location:

Metropolitan statistical area2 ........................ 135,000 (11,251) 100.0 27.7 (2.5) 20.5 (2.8) 51.9 (3.8)

Micropolitan statistical area3 ........... ........... 16,700 (2,120) 100.0 42.8 (4.3) 21.5 (2.6) 35.6 (3.9)

Other location ................................. 9,000 (1,276) 100.0 33.7 (2.8) 17.7 (2.9) 48.6 (3.6)

Chain affiliation:

Part of a chain................................. 48,100 (6,857) 100.0 31.9 (3.9) 20.2 (3.9) 47.8 (5.4)

Not part of a chain .............................. 112,600 (11,014) 100.0 28.6 (2.6) 20.5 (3.0) 50.9 (4.0)

Aide characteristic

Age at time of interview:

Under 25 years ................................ 8,200 (1,789) 100.0 92.3 (5.3) * * * *

25–34 years .................................. 25,600 (3,286) 100.0 55.0 (4.6) 31.2 (4.9) 13.8 (3.7)

35–44 years .................................. 36,100 (3,379) 100.0 29.6 (5.2) 20.7 (3.8) 49.7 (5.2)

45–54 years .................................. 47,900 (4,775) 100.0 17.2 (3.2) 18.6 (3.8) 64.2 (5.1)

55 years and over .............................. 42,900 (5,062) 100.0 16.3 (4.3) 18.1 (4.1) 65.6 (5.2)

Race:

White ...................................... 85,700 (7,624) 100.0 31.5 (3.1) 22.0 (3.1) 46.5 (3.6)

Black ...................................... 56,100 (6,889) 100.0 26.1 (4.0) 16.3 (3.4) 57.7 (5.3)

Other4 .................. .................. 18,900 (3,514) 100.0 31.6 (7.6) †25.5 (6.6) 42.9 (6.1)

Hispanic or Latino origin:

Hispanic..................................... 13,000 (2,717) 100.0 34.7 (8.1) †14.9 (5.1) 50.5 (9.8)

Not Hispanic .................................. 144,900 (10,980) 100.0 29.4 (2.4) 20.2 (2.5) 50.4 (3.4)

Education:

No high school diploma or GED5 ..................... 11,500 (2,349) 100.0 †13.1 (5.3) †25.6 (7.9) 61.3 (8.8)

High school diploma ............................. 22,900 (3,258) 100.0 30.3 (6.7) 11.6 (3.2) 58.0 (7.1)

GED5 ...................................... 60,600 (5,563) 100.0 34.0 (3.6) 20.1 (3.3) 45.9 (4.6)

1–3 year college or trade school...................... 54,100 (5,004) 100.0 27.9 (3.8) 19.7 (3.8) 52.4 (4.4)

College graduate or post graduate .................... 9,400 (2,361) 100.0 †31.7 (11.5) * * †38.8 (11.6)

Marital status:

Married or living with partner ........................ 80,800 (6,329) 100.0 31.7 (2.8) 18.8 (2.5) 49.5 (3.3)

Widowed, divorced, separated ....................... 51,400 (5,314) 100.0 19.4 (4.1) 19.6 (3.7) 60.9 (5.0)

Never married ................................. 26,300 (3,888) 100.0 43.7 (5.0) 22.6 (5.9) 33.7 (5.6)

Family income:

Less than $20,000 .............................. 34,500 (4,441) 100.0 41.2 (6.3) 22.0 (3.9) 36.7 (6.1)

$20,000–$29,999 ............................... 40,800 (4,428) 100.0 21.7 (3.4) 22.0 (4.1) 56.3 (4.9)

$30,000–$39,999 ............................... 32,900 (3,625) 100.0 27.6 (4.9) 20.1 (4.8) 52.3 (5.6)

$40,000–$49,999 ............................... 17,300 (2,743) 100.0 37.0 (7.6) †8.6 (2.9) 54.5 (8.0)

$50,000 or more ............................... 26,700 (3,202) 100.0 28.9 (5.1) 19.4 (5.2) 51.7 (6.1)

Unknown .................................... 8,400 (2,000) 100.0 * * †(35.2) (12.4) †50.4 (12.1)

* Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is fewer than 30.

† Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or

more.

1

Includes home health aides currently employed by agencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice

care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker services or housekeeping services, assistance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were

excluded from the survey. 2

A county or group of contiguous counties that contains at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population and may also contain other counties that are economically and socially integrated

with the central county as measured by commuting. 3

A nonmetropolitan county or group of contiguous nonmetropolitan counties that contains an urban cluster of 10,000–49,999 persons and may include surrounding counties if strong economic ties

exist between the counties, based on commuting patterns. 4

Includes Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiple races. 5

General Educational Development credential given to persons who passed tests deemed equivalent to high school-level academic skills. 

NOTES: Numbers may not add to totals and percent distributions may not add to 100% because of rounding, or because totals and percent distributions include a category of unknowns not

reported in the table. Unknowns are included as a separate row in the table if the overall percentage is 5% or greater. For age, race and sex, unknown responses were imputed, and less than 5%

of responses were unknown. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007.
Page 22 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

Table 10. Reasons for continuing in current job for currently employed home health aides, by age, sex, and race: United States, 2007

All home Under 25–34 35–44 45–54 55 years

Reason for continuing in current job health aides 25 years years years years and over

Number (standard error)

All home health aides1 .................. 160,700 (11,479) 8,200 (1,789) 25,600 (3,286) 36,100 (3,379) 47,900 (4,775) 42,900 (5,062)

Agency/management environment

Career advancement opportunities .......... 125,600 (8,818) 7,300 (1,748) 18,400 (2,364) 27,800 (2,970) 39,400 (4,094) 32,600 (3,953)

Opportunity to work overtime .............. 114,200 (9,015) 3,900 (1,018) 19,200 (2,889) 23,600 (2,705) 34,700 (3,650) 32,800 (4,076)

Flexible schedule or hours ............... 109,700 (8,375) 5,400 (1,546) 18,400 (2,863) 26,400 (2,920) 32,900 (3,799) 26,800 (3,566)

Benefits ........................... 104,500 (7,904) 4,800 (1,363) 17,200 (2,728) 23,300 (2,692) 30,800 (3,675) 28,400 (3,811)

Professional/personal environment

Enjoy working with other members of care team . . 110,500 (8,335) 3,400 (861) 19,600 (3,127) 26,000 (2,793) 29,700 (3,487) 31,800 (4,284)

Enjoy caring for others .................. 105,100 (8,193) 4,400 (1,215) 17,000 (2,351) 24,200 (2,922) 32,600 (3,648) 26,900 (3,725)

Able to work independently ............... 99,700 (7,798) 4,900 (1,416) 15,400 (2,860) 21,300 (2,529) 33,400 (3,923) 24,800 (3,440)

Feeling good about work environment ........ 94,100 (7,043) 3,900 (1,051) 18,800 (3,055) 21,300 (2,543) 26,600 (3,009) 23,600 (3,530)

Enjoy working with supervisor ............. 93,800 (7,041) 3,400 (1,010) 15,000 (2,436) 21,100 (2,631) 26,500 (2,948) 27,800 (3,747)

Other reasons ....................... 55,800 (5,858) * * 9,100 (1,981) 11,500 (2,188) 17,300 (2,489) 7,800 (1,973)

Agency/management environment Percent (standard error)

Career advancement opportunities .......... 78.1 (1.9) 89.4 (5.1) 71.7 (5.2) 77.0 (4.6) 82.3 (3.4) 76.0 (3.8)

Opportunity to work overtime .............. 71.0 (2.5) 47.3 (8.6) 75.1 (4.6) 65.3 (5.0) 72.4 (4.4) 76.5 (4.1)

Flexible schedule or hours ............... 68.3 (2.5) 65.6 (10.0) 71.7 (5.0) 72.9 (4.5) 68.6 (3.7) 62.5 (3.9)

Benefits ........................... 65.0 (2.3) 58.9 (10.3) 67.2 (5.2) 64.5 (4.5) 64.2 (5.1) 66.3 (4.7)

Professional/personal environment

Enjoy working with other members of care team . . 68.8 (2.4) 41.3 (9.6) 76.5 (4.8) 72.0 (4.3) 62.0 (5.5) 74.2 (4.6)

Enjoy caring for others .................. 65.4 (2.4) 54.2 (9.6) 66.5 (4.6) 66.9 (5.0) 67.9 (3.7) 62.8 (5.0)

Able to work independently ............... 62.0 (2.7) 59.7 (10.1) 60.2 (6.4) 58.8 (4.6) 69.7 (3.8) 57.8 (5.6)

Feeling good about work environment ........ 58.6 (2.5) 47.4 (8.6) 73.4 (5.0) 59.0 (5.2) 55.5 (3.4) 55.0 (5.9)

Enjoy working with supervisor ............. 58.3 (2.3) 41.6 (9.2) 58.6 (5.1) 58.3 (5.4) 55.4 (3.7) 64.8 (4.5)

Other reasons ....................... 34.7 (2.7) * * 35.4 (5.9) 31.7 (5.1) 36.0 (4.3) 37.3 (4.9)

All home

health aides Female Male White Black Other2

Number (standard error)

All home health aides1 .................. 160,700 (11,479) 152,700 (11,032) 8,000 (1,608) 85,700 (7,624) 56,100 (6,889) 18,900 (3,514)

Agency/management environment

Career advancement opportunities .......... 125,600 (8,818) 120,300 (8,549) 5,200 (1,193) 68,400 (6,116) 43,100 (5,373) 14,100 (2,649)

Opportunity to work overtime .............. 114,200 (9,015) 107,400 (8,454) 6,700 (1,534) 62,100 (6,088) 41,500 (5,604) 10,600 (2,243)

Flexible schedule or hours ............... 109,700 (8,375) 104,400 (8,050) 5,400 (1,291) 60,500 (6,247) 36,000 (5,038) 13,200 (2,355)

Benefits ........................... 104,500 (7,904) 98,900 (7,434) 5,600 (1,360) 53,800 (4,843) 38,500 (5,948) 12,200 (2,339)

Professional/personal environment

Enjoy working with other members of care team . . 110,500 (8,335) 104,300 (7,883) 6,300 (1,508) 60,700 (5,838) 38,400 (5,581) 11,400 (2,292)

Enjoy caring for others .................. 105,100 (8,193) 100,300 (7,794) 4,800 (1,197) 51,800 (4,820) 39,700 (5,631) 13,600 (2,561)

Able to work independently ............... 99,700 (7,798) 94,200 (7,482) 5,500 (1,269) 53,400 (5,215) 33,400 (4,949) 12,900 (2,431)

Feeling good about work environment ........ 94,100 (7,043) 89,600 (6,764) 4,500 (1,129) 52,100 (5,172) 34,900 (5,242) 7,100 (1,569)

Enjoy working with supervisor ............. 93,800 (7,041) 87,800 (6,796) 6,000 (1,430) 53,200 (5,469) 30,300 (4,656) 10,200 (2,172)

Other reasons ....................... 55,800 (5,858) 51,900 (5,388) †3,900 (1,221) 31,900 (4,091) 16,100 (3,380) 7,800 (1,973)

Agency/management environment Percent (standard error)

Career advancement opportunities .......... 78.1 (1.9) 78.8 (1.9) 65.5 (10.8) 79.8 (2.6) 76.7 (3.2) 74.5 (6.0)

Opportunity to work overtime .............. 71.0 (2.5) 70.3 (2.5) 84.4 (5.4) 72.4 (3.0) 73.9 (4.3) 56.2 (7.7)

Flexible schedule or hours ............... 68.3 (2.5) 68.3 (2.4) 67.1 (10.2) 70.6 (3.1) 64.1 (4.0) 70.0 (9.5)

Benefits ........................... 65.0 (2.3) 64.8 (2.3) 70.4 (9.3) 62.8 (2.9) 68.6 (4.2) 64.6 (6.3)

Professional/personal environment

Enjoy working with other members of care team . . 68.8 (2.4) 68.3 (2.5) 78.3 (7.2) 70.9 (2.6) 68.4 (4.3) 60.4 (6.2)

Enjoy caring for others .................. 65.4 (2.4) 65.7 (2.4) 60.0 (10.2) 60.4 (3.1) 70.7 (4.3) 72.1 (6.4)

Able to work independently ............... 62.0 (2.7) 61.7 (2.8) 68.7 (10.1) 62.4 (2.8) 59.5 (4.6) 68.1 (9.7)

Feeling good about work environment ........ 58.6 (2.5) 58.7 (2.6) 56.6 (10.3) 60.8 (3.0) 62.2 (4.4) 37.8 (8.3)

Enjoy working with supervisor ............. 58.3 (2.3) 57.5 (2.4) 74.5 (8.8) 62.1 (3.1) 54.0 (4.5) 54.1 (9.3)

Other reasons ....................... 34.7 (2.7) 33.9 (2.6) †49.0 (10.3) 37.2 (3.1) 28.6 (4.4) 41.3 (8.7)

* Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision. 

† Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% 

or more. 1

Includes home health aides currently employed by agencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice 

care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker services or housekeeping services, assistance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were 

excluded from the survey. 2

Includes Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiple races. 

NOTES: For each reason for continuing in current job, less than 5% of responses were unknown; in this table, these unknowns were treated as no responses. For age, race, and sex, unknown

responses were imputed, and less than 5% of responses were unknown. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007.
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011 Page 23

Table 11. Attitudes toward job, by overall job satisfaction of currently employed home health aides: United States, 2007

Overall job satisfaction

Extremely Somewhat Somewhat or

Job satisfaction All home health aides1 satisfied satisfied extremely dissatisfied

Number (standard error) Percent (standard error) Percent distribution (standard error)

All home health aides1 ................... 160,700 (11,479) 100.0 . . . 46.7 (2.3) 40.4 (2.2) 11.7 (1.8) 

Satisfaction with aspects of current job

Doing challenging work:

Extremely satisfied .................... 95,000 (7,650) 59.1 (2.5) 77.0 (3.1) 45.9 (3.7) 38.8 (8.7)

Somewhat satisfied. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,400n (5,570) 37.0 (2.3) 22.2 (3.1) 51.5 (3.8) 49.2 (8.9)

Somewhat or extremely dissatisfied ......... †3,600 †(1,130) †2.2 (0.7) * * * * * *

Benefits:

Extremely satisfied .................... 45,800 (4,488) 28.5 (2.4) 47.0 (3.3) 15.2 (2.5) †3.9 (1.1)

Somewhat satisfied. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,400 (4,580) 28.9 (2.4) 29.0 (3.0) 33.0 (3.6) 16.9 (4.6)

Somewhat or extremely dissatisfied ......... 60,800 (7,164) 37.8 (2.9) 20.6 (2.7) 47.2 (4.1) 77.4 (5.3)

Salary:

Extremely satisfied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,700 (3,024) 17.2 (1.9) 31.6 (3.2) 5.2 (1.4) * *

Somewhat satisfied. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,400 (5,943) 43.8 (2.6) 49.5 (3.2) 43.5 (3.6) †26.4 (7.8)

Somewhat or extremely dissatisfied ......... 60,800 (7,185) 37.8 (2.9) 18.8 (2.8) 51.3 (3.8) 70.7 (8.0)

Learning new skills:

Extremely satisfied .................... 90,100 (7,687) 56.0 (3.2) 73.0 (3.2) 46.7 (3.7) 25.9 (6.8)

Somewhat satisfied. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,200 (6,363) 36.8 (2.7) 25.1 (3.1) 46.5 (3.7) 54.1 (8.5)

Somewhat or extremely dissatisfied ......... 9,300 (1,881) 5.8 (1.1) †1.5 (0.8) 6.7 (1.7) †20.0 (6.4)

Perceived respect and value of work

Society values or appreciates aides’ work:

Very much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90,200 (7,133) 56.1 (2.3) 62.5 (3.2) 52.2 (3.8) 50.0 (6.2)

Somewhat or not at all ................. 67,600 (5,981) 42.0 (2.2) 37.3 (3.2) 46.4 (3.8) 50.0 (6.2)

Organization values or appreciates work aides do:

Very much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106,600 (8,582) 66.3 (2.5) 89.0 (1.9) 51.2 (3.8) 34.6 (7.5)

Somewhat or not at all ................. 51,600 (5,144) 32.1 (2.4) 10.8 (1.9) 48.0 (3.8) 65.2 (7.5)

Supervisor values or appreciates work aides do:

Very much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122,900 (9,814) 76.5 (2.2) 94.3 (1.2) 66.5 (3.7) 46.7 (9.1)

Somewhat or not at all ................. 34,100 (3,670) 21.2 (2.1) 5.6 (1.2) 30.6 (3.4) 53.1 (9.1)

Self-rated importance of aides’ work:

Very important. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155,100 (10,930) 96.5 (1.0) 99.6 (0.2) 96.7 (1.2) 92.8 (3.8)

Somewhat or not at all important ........... 3,400 (1,013) 2.1 (0.6) * * †2.7 (1.1) * *

Supervisor respects aide as part of health care

team:

A great deal ........................ 121,600 (9,651) 75.7 (2.1) 92.6 (2.1) 66.4 (3.1) 47.4 (8.7)

Somewhat or not at all ................. 36,300 (3,745) 22.6 (2.1) 6.6 (1.5) 33.0 (3.1) 52.4 (8.6)

Patients respect aide as part of health care team:

A great deal ........................ 144,000 (10,159) 89.6 (1.3) 91.7 (1.9) 89.9 (2.0) 88.8 (3.6)

Somewhat or not at all ................. 12,300 (1,977) 7.6 (1.2) 5.5 (1.4) 9.7 (2.0) †9.8 (3.4)

Commitment to field and job

Become a home health aide again:

Definitely yes ....................... 116,000 (9,281) 72.2 (2.2) 84.2 (2.1) 67.3 (3.2) 40.8 (7.0)

Probably yes........................ 34,500 (3,669) 21.5 (1.9) 14.7 (2.0) 25.7 (2.8) 34.2 (6.5)

Probably or definitely not ................ 10,100 (2,332) 6.3 (1.4) * * 7.0 (2.0) †25.0 (6.8)

Take current job again:

Definitely yes ....................... 86,800 (6,853) 54.0 (2.3) 80.5 (3.0) 37.9 (3.6) †8.3 (3.4)

Probably yes........................ 49,000 (4,758) 30.5 (2.0) 15.9 (2.7) 47.6 (3.4) 26.5 (5.8)

Probably or definitely not ................ 22,500 (3,274) 14.0 (1.6) * * 14.2 (2.5) 58.7 (5.8)

. . . Category not applicable.

† Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or 

more. 

* Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is fewer than 30. 1

Includes home health aides currently employed by agencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice 

care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker services or housekeeping services, assistance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were 

excluded from the survey. 

NOTES: Numbers may not add to totals and percent distributions may not add to 100% because of rounding, or because totals and percent distributions include a category of unknowns not

reported in the table. Unknowns accounted for less than 5% of responses for each category presented in this table. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007.
Page 24 National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011

te of pay for currently employed home health aides, by total length of time worked as a home health aide and employer characteristics:

Total time worked as a home health aide

All home health aides1 5 years or fewer 6–10 years More than 10 years

Percent (SE) of

aides who received

Mean hourly Median hourly Mean hourly Median hourly Mean hourly Median hourly Mean hourly Median hourly a pay increase

pay rate pay rate pay rate pay rate pay rate pay rate pay rate pay rate in past 12 months

In dollars (SE)

.... $10.88 (0.45) $10.51 (0.34) $10.14 (0.75) $9.99 (0.33) $10.77 (0.65) $10.00 (0.38) $11.37 (0.70) $11.85 (0.32) 56.7 (3.3)

.... 10.83 (0.60) 10.00 (0.39) 10.04 (0.97) 9.45 (0.38) 10.74 (0.89) 9.49 (0.54) 11.35 (0.93) 11.50 (0.54) 51.6 (4.3)

. . . . 10.47 (1.31) 9.99 (1.96) †10.04 (2.04) †8.9 (1.06) * * * * †8.97 (3.23) 11.66 (2.29) 41.5 (8.7)

.... 10.35 (1.15) 9.41 (0.47) 8.97 (0.56) 8.91 (0.36) †10.43 (1.85) †9.41 (0.36) 11.22 (2.22) 10.11 (0.92) 54.4 (8.4)

. . . . 11.60 (0.79) 11.18 (0.58) 11.93 (2.05) 10.52 (0.64) 10.04 (0.59) 10.00 (0.63) 11.89 (0.81) 12.15 (0.66) 55.4 (5.5)

.... 11.13 (0.30) 11.75 (0.28) 10.62 (0.50) 11.26 (0.44) 11.26 (0.39) 11.58 (0.47) 11.41 (0.51) 12.18 (0.33) 69.6 (2.8)

. . . . 10.04 (0.68) 10.96 (0.81) 10.15 (0.75) 9.96 (0.90) †10.13 (1.79) †9.77 - - ­ 9.81 (2.55) 12.41 (1.27) 47.0 (9.1)

.... 11.38 (0.72) 11.64 (0.96) 10.48 (1.02) 10.07 (0.73) 11.05 (0.83) 11.53 (0.73) 11.83 (1.13) 12.82 (0.89) 65.5 (6.8)

. . . . 11.28 (0.34) 11.84 (0.28) 10.71 (0.69) 11.42 (0.42) 11.41 (0.43) 11.49 (0.51) 11.65 (0.49) 12.06 (0.29) 74.5 (2.9)

.... 10.97 (0.53) 11.46 (0.53) 10.2 (0.41) 10.34 (0.36) 10.52 (0.40) 10.48 (0.46) 11.49 (0.90) 12.64 (0.58) 73.3 (5.3)

. . . . 8.15 (1.21) 9.99 (0.43) 9.19 (1.00) 9.91 (0.47) †9.88 (0.71) †9.69 (1.06) †6.59 (2.39) 10.39 (1.09) 62.2 (9.3)

.... 11.80 (0.78) 11.86 (0.80) 10.61 (0.74) 10.36 (0.84) 10.20 (1.24) 10.73 (0.77) 12.91 (0.77) 13.01 (1.09) 78.5 (7.2)

. . . . 10.13 (0.76) 10.49 (0.46) 8.20 (1.99) 10.04 (0.42) 10.61 (0.34) 10.47 (0.45) 10.89 (0.95) 11.74 (0.71) 69.0 (8.5)

. . . . 10.28 (0.65) 9.49 (0.29) 10.04 (1.00) 9.00 (0.35) 10.70 (0.91) 9.48 (0.57) 10.25 (1.14) 10.00 (0.70) 44.9 (4.6)

.... 12.01 (0.46) 12.08 (0.28) 10.36 (0.37) 10.75 (0.21) 10.91 (0.48) 11.78 (0.47) 12.80 (0.63) 12.65 (0.40) 78.4 (3.7)

.... 11.32 (0.82) 10.50 (0.84) 10.64 (0.75) 10.34 (0.46) 10.95 (0.37) 10.42 --­ 11.92 (1.27) 12.62 (0.99) 68.1 (10.5)

.... 10.42 (0.72) 11.12 (0.48) 8.10 (1.76) 10.35 (0.45) 10.53 (0.82) 10.89 (0.32) 11.61 (0.74) 12.49 (0.62) 62.2 (6.9)

.... 10.97 (0.74) 10.37 (0.40) 11.81 (1.78) 9.96 (0.43) 10.01 (0.72) 9.50 (0.79) 10.88 (0.63) 11.05 (0.53) 59.0 (6.3)

.... 10.97 (0.77) 10.16 (0.67) 9.91 (0.70) 8.90 (0.50) 11.31 (1.21) 9.49 (0.90) 11.43 (1.38) 11.60 (0.70) 53.2 (5.2)

.... 10.87 (1.26) 12.25 (0.77) 8.76 (1.96) 10.00 (0.97) 11.06 (1.15) 12.33 (0.47) 12.66 (1.36) 13.78 (1.04) 59.1 (5.5)

.... 10.91 (0.44) 10.98 (0.48) 10.48 (0.95) 10.00 (0.37) 10.99 (0.76) 10.34 (0.54) 11.11 (0.56) 11.99 (0.42) 56.2 (3.8)

.... 12.16 (2.41) 9.54 (0.26) 9.05 (0.30) 8.99 (0.24) 9.58 (0.49) 9.58 (0.50) †17.46 (6.61) 10.73 (0.38) 56.4 (4.4)

.... 8.12 (0.85) 9.17 (0.58) 8.44 (0.65) 7.96 (0.45) 9.54 (0.53) 9.71 (0.25) 7.38 (1.50) 9.36 (0.81) 64.8 (3.8)

.... 10.33 (1.05) 10.00 (0.41) 9.34 (0.95) 9.82 (0.42) 10.36 (1.63) 9.48 (0.51) 10.98 (1.94) 10.95 (0.53) 47.5 (5.0)

.... 11.12 (0.46) 10.99 (0.49) 10.52 (1.00) 9.99 (0.33) 10.94 (0.62) 10.49 (0.67) 11.53 (0.59) 12.00 (0.48) 60.7 (4.1)

recision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or more.

ecision because the sample size is fewer than 30.

alth aide was unknown.

gencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker

strumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were excluded from the survey.

alth care agencies, small was fewer than 47 current patients, medium was 47–105, and large was 106 or more. For hospice care agencies, small was 28 or fewer current patients, medium was 29–72,

e health and hospice care, small was 79 or fewer current patients (both hospice and home health care), medium was 80–224, and large was 225 or more.

ns at least one unrbanized area of 50,000 or more population and may contain other counties that are economically and socially integrated with the central county as measured by commuting.

nmetropolitan counties that contains an urban cluster of 10,000 to 49,999 persons and may include surrounding counties if there are strong economic ties between the counties, based on commuting

mean and median hourly pay. Among home health aides, 6.67% were missing some information necessary to calculate hourly pay rate. SE is standard error.

urvey, 2007.
National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011 Page 25

ployed home health aides reporting benefits offered by employer, by employer size and type: United States, 2007

Type of care provided and size1,2

All agencies Home health only Hospice only Home health and hospice

Benefit

offered2 Unknown Total Small Medium Large Total Small Medium Large Total Small Medium Large

Percent

..... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

..... 72.7 †3.0 66.0 43.0 59.3 79.0 94.3 83.1 97.0 95.5 89.2 71.4 87.7 91.1

..... 62.0 4.3 59.6 53.3 44.1 73.0 65.2 54.2 56.2 70.4 72.1 70.5 65.4 75.1

ays4 . . . 59.1 †3.3 51.5 25.6 56.4 56.7 86.1 66.0 91.8 87.3 76.0 73.1 70.1 75.8

..... 56.0 7.0 46.3 23.6 32.7 66.3 87.6 66.2 86.1 90.8 80.3 55.9 74.3 85.6

..... 53.2 10.2 45.2 31.2 32.1 60.7 83.5 45.7 89.7 87.6 69.7 57.7 66.2 68.9

..... 51.2 †2.8 42.9 †16.4 41.0 54.4 87.3 60.2 91.8 89.5 63.8 55.2 64.0 60.0

..... 50.5 4.8 41.5 †22.6 33.0 55.4 82.8 64.9 87.4 85.1 70.6 57.8 68.9 69.0

..... 49.2 10.6 40.4 †7.8 26.9 63.1 78.2 55.1 75.8 83.5 71.3 59.8 67.2 72.2

..... 36.8 4.5 36.1 †26.1 24.3 48.4 37.8 29.8 43.8 38.5 39.3 35.6 28.8 40.7

..... 30.4 12.9 24.5 †14.6 †17.6 33.3 50.0 †21.2 48.5 55.1 44.8 38.8 35.6 47.9

..... 24.3 †1.9 18.2 * †7.0 34.0 49.9 22.0 43.9 55.4 34.0 36.1 20.8 36.7

..... 8.8 5.5 8.1 * * †11.7 16.8 * †9.0 20.1 5.6 * †6.5 †5.9

..... 6.1 14.5 5.2 * * †9.1 7.8 * * †7.9 9.5 * †4.4 †12.7

..... 14.6 * 12.4 * †9.0 19.2 21.3 * †25.0 21.2 20.2 †12.7 29.9 16.9

(Standard error)

..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

..... (2.8) †(0.9) (3.6) (9.7) (6.6) (3.7) (1.2) (5.2) (1.3) (1.4) (2.9) (6.1) (6.0) (4.1)

..... (3.3) (1.0) (4.4) (13.0) (7.5) (4.9) (2.8) (10.2) (4.3) (3.3) (4.9) (8.1) (8.4) (7.7)

ays4 . . . (3.4) †(1.0) (4.2) (7.6) (6.9) (6.6) (1.9) (7.0) (2.6) (2.1) (6.6) (6.6) (12.5) (9.9)

..... (3.4) (1.3) (4.2) (7.1) (6.1) (5.1) (1.9) (11.6) (3.6) (1.9) (3.5) (9.1) (6.7) (4.8)

..... (3.0) (1.6) (3.7) (6.2) (5.8) (4.9) (2.3) (8.7) (2.9) (2.3) (6.2) (9.0) (12.2) (8.8)

..... (3.1) †(0.8) (3.8) †(4.9) (5.3) (6.0) (2.0) (9.3) (2.7) (2.0) (5.9) (5.8) (12.0) (7.9)

..... (3.6) (1.1) (4.4) †(7.3) (7.4) (5.8) (2.3) (9.6) (3.6) (2.7) (5.6) (9.8) (12.4) (7.3)

..... (3.9) (1.7) (4.8) †(3.4) (7.5) (5.7) (2.4) (12.9) (3.8) (2.9) (7.5) (10.0) (12.2) (12.2)

..... (2.9) (1.0) (3.7) †(6.9) (5.5) (5.0) (3.5) (8.1) (9.9) (4.0) (5.6) (5.7) (8.3) (8.4)

..... (3.0) (1.7) (3.8) †(4.5) †(6.3) (5.8) (3.7) †(8.3) (11.1) (3.5) (6.0) (7.1) (3.9) (10.7)

..... (3.1) †(0.6) (3.9) * †(2.5) (7.2) (4.0) (4.2) (9.0) (4.5) (5.9) (7.1) (5.9) (9.7)

..... (1.8) (1.2) (2.3) * * †(4.6) (1.7) * †(3.7) (2.0) (1.2) * †(2.5) †(1.9)

..... (1.0) (1.6) (1.1) * * †(2.1) (1.6) * * †(1.8) (2.6) * †(1.9) †(3.9)

..... (1.9) * (2.5) * †(3.6) (3.9) (2.8) * †(9.8) (2.7) (3.6) †(3.2) (7.6) (4.4)

recision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or more.

ecision because the sample size is less than 30.

alth care agencies, small was fewer than 47 current patients, medium was 47–105, and large was 106 or more. For hospice care agencies, small was 28 or fewer current patients, medium was 29–72,

e health and hospice care, small was 79 or fewer current patients (both hospice and home health care), medium was 80–224, and large was 225 or more.

by the home health or hospice aide.

gencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currentlyserve or recently served home health or hospice care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker

strumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were excluded from the survey.

off for good work.

unknowns were treated as no responses. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

urvey, 2007.
Page 26 National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011

currently employed home health aides, by employer and demographic characteristics: United States, 2007

Employer offers health insurance1 Aide not offered or not enrolled in employer health insurance2

Employer does Aide enrolled in Aide enrolled

All home not offer Employers offers Aide enrolled Aide not enrolled spouse’s or in government Aide not enrolled

health aides3 health insurance health insurance1 in employer plan in employer plan Total individual plan4 plan5 in any plan

Number (standard error) Percent (standard error)

... 160,700 (11,479) 24.4 (3.0) 72.7 (2.8) 37.5 (3.2) 35.2 (3.1) 59.5 (2.8) 35.2 (2.1) 10.6 (1.6) 18.5 (2.1)

... 119,200 (11,329) 30.0 (3.9) 66.0 (3.6) 28.3 (3.8) 37.8 (4.0) 67.8 (3.4) 39.5 (2.7) 12.0 (2.1) 22.1 (2.8)

... 19,200 (5,573) †54.4 (9.8) 43.0 (9.7) †14.5 (7.4) †28.4 (10.7) 82.8 (7.4) †56.9 (6.4) * * †24.9 (7.7)

... 42,400 (8,843) 35.6 (7.9) 59.3 (6.6) †18.1 (6.0) 41.2 (7.2) 76.8 (5.4) 38.2 (4.2) †14.0 (3.4) 30.0 (4.9)

... 53,700 (7,947) 17.8 (3.7) 79.0 (3.7) 42.5 (5.4) 36.5 (4.7) 54.3 (4.6) 34.1 (3.5) †10.7 (3.1) 13.8 (3.7)

... 20,000 (1,605) 5.5 (1.2) 94.3 (1.2) 66.9 (2.6) 27.4 (2.5) 32.9 (2.6) 24.6 (2.2) 4.0 (1.0) 6.4 (1.4)

... 1,800 (481) †15.7 (5.1) 83.1 (5.2) 45.4 (7.7) 37.7 (6.1) 53.3 (7.7) 29.2 (4.4) * * †17.4 (7.5)

. . . 3,900 (956) * * 97.0 (1.3) 64.9 (4.6) 31.8 (5.0) 34.5 (4.7) 29.9 (5.3) * * * *

... 12,700 (1,425) * * 95.5 (1.4) 69.0 (3.4) 26.5 (3.2) 30.9 (3.4) 23.3 (2.7) * * †5.9 (1.7)

... 21,500 (3,372) 10.8 (2.9) 89.2 (2.9) 61.3 (6.6) 27.9 (4.5) 38.6 (6.6) 21.2 (3.5) †8.9 (2.8) 9.5 (2.5)

... 1,700 (395) †28.5 (6.1) 71.4 (6.1) 34.3 (5.1) 37.1 (3.6) 65.5 (5.1) 33.2 (5.1) * * †24.7 (7.1)

... †6,100 †(1,947) †12.2 (6.0) 87.7 (6.0) 61.2 (9.3) 26.5 (4.1) 38.7 (9.3) †26.5 (9.1) * * †6.3 (3.2)

... 11,500 (2,604) * * 91.1 (4.1) 65.5 (11.2) †25.6 (7.7) †34.5 (11.2) 15.4 (4.0) * * * *

... 8,200 (1,789) †42.4 (11.6) 53.0 (11.4) †13.8 (4.9) 39.2 (10.7) 81.5 (6.5) 60.1 (8.9) * * * *

... 25,600 (3,286) 28.5 (5.5) 68.9 (5.7) 30.2 (6.3) 38.8 (5.9) 67.3 (6.5) 31.8 (5.8) 14.5 (4.0) 27.7 (5.4)

... 36,100 (3,379) 24.0 (4.6) 73.0 (4.5) 40.0 (4.9) 33.0 (4.6) 57.1 (4.8) 28.5 (4.6) †13.1 (4.0) 19.4 (3.7)

... 47,900 (4,775) 26.4 (4.7) 69.3 (4.7) 38.9 (4.9) 30.3 (3.9) 56.7 (4.6) 33.8 (4.5) * * 21.7 (3.8)

... 42,900 (5,062) 16.5 (4.2) 82.1 (4.2) 42.7 (5.3) 39.4 (5.7) 56.0 (5.2) 39.6 (5.5) 16.2 (3.8) †9.9 (3.3)

. . . 152,700 (11,032) 23.9 (2.9) 73.3 (2.8) 37.5 (3.2) 35.8 (3.2) 59.7 (2.8) 35.5 (2.3) 10.2 (1.6) 18.2 (2.2)

... 8,000 (1,608) * * 60.2 (10.8) †36.7 (9.9) †23.5 (7.7) †56.5 (10.4) * * * * * *... 85,700 (7,624) 20.7 (3.6) 74.9 (3.6) 40.6 (3.9) 34.4 (3.2) 55.1 (3.4) 35.0 (2.7) 8.9 (1.9) 15.6 (2.5)

... 56,100 (6,889) 28.0 (5.3) 70.6 (5.1) 35.0 (5.0) 35.7 (5.0) 63.7 (4.7) 32.1 (3.8) †13.1 (3.8) 22.9 (4.3)

... 18,900 (3,514) †30.1 (8.0) 68.2 (8.1) 30.8 (7.3) 37.4 (9.9) 67.5 (7.5) 45.1 (7.8) * * †18.7 (6.3)

... 13,000 (2,717) †30.6 (6.2) 66.9 (6.3) 32.5 (6.9) 34.4 (9.3) 65.0 (7.1) †31.9 (9.1) * * †25.6 (6.8)

... 144,900 (10,980) 23.9 (3.1) 73.3 (3.0) 38.2 (3.3) 35.1 (3.0) 59.0 (2.9) 36.1 (2.3) 10.1 (1.7) 17.1 (2.3)

... 11,500 (2,349) * * 70.3 (10.9) 43.9 (10.5) †26.4 (8.5) 53.4 (10.6) †26.9 (8.0) * * †17.0 (6.5)

... 22,900 (3,258) 20.9 (5.4) 72.6 (6.2) 44.7 (6.1) 27.9 (6.0) 48.8 (6.0) 21.4 (5.1) †10.1 (3.8) 21.6 (5.5)

... 60,600 (5,563) 23.6 (3.6) 74.4 (3.8) 34.7 (3.7) 39.7 (4.8) 63.3 (3.7) 36.7 (3.2) 11.4 (2.7) 19.0 (3.5)

... 63,600 (5,779) 26.0 (4.2) 71.9 (4.1) 37.5 (3.9) 34.4 (3.7) 60.4 (3.7) 41.3 (3.7) 10.3 (2.3) 15.3 (2.7)
National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011 Page 27

currently employed home health aides, by employer and demographic characteristics: United States, 2007—Con.

Employer offers health insurance1 Aide not offered or not enrolled in employer health insurance2

All home

health aides3

Employer does

not offer

health insurance

Employers offers

health insurance1

Aide enrolled

in employer plan

Aide not enrolled

in employer plan Total

Aide enrolled in

spouse’s or

individual plan4

Aide enrolled

in government

plan5

Aide not enrolled

in any plan

Number (standard error) Percent (standard error)

...

...

...

80,800

51,40026,300

(6,329)

(5,314)(3,888)

26.418.030.5

(3.8)(3.9)(7.5)

70.1 (3.7)79.8 (3.9)67.7 (7.5)

34.847.728.5

(3.2)(5.3)(5.7)

35.332.139.2

(3.1)(4.7)(7.0)

61.750.169.7

(2.9)(5.1)(5.9)

43.225.931.3

(2.7)(4.9)(5.8)

8.2 (2.0)

11.9 (3.2)

†15.7 (5.1)

15.217.326.2

(2.8)(3.6)(5.5)

...

.........

...

...

34,50040,80032,90017,30026,700

8,400

(4,441)(4,428)(3,625)(2,743)(3,202)

(2,000)

27.222.726.7

†27.2†20.3

*

(4.9)(5.3)(5.3)

(7.8)(5.5)

*

66.1 (4.8)77.0 (5.3)71.4 (5.8)66.4 (8.1)78.8 (5.5)76.4 (9.6)

18.8 (3.3)48.0 (5.5)39.7 (5.4)36.5 (6.3)44.9 (5.4)

†32.7 (10.9)

47.3 (5.2)29.0 (4.3)31.7 (5.7)30.0 (6.4)34.0 (4.7)

†43.7 (12.3)

74.5 (4.0)51.7 (5.5)58.4 (5.2)57.1 (6.8)54.3 (5.4)

†62.5 (11.4)

27.2 (5.3)28.7 (4.5)39.7 (5.2)42.3 (5.9)46.9 (5.3)

†29.4 (10.3)

22.2

†10.1

†6.5

***

(5.0)

(3.1)

(2.4)

***

31.419.4

†15.0

***

(4.8)(4.7)

(4.3)

***

recision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or more.

ecision because the sample size is fewer than 30.

r source of health insurance coverage.

gencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker

strumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were excluded from the survey.

s employer or purchased separately.

, such as Medicaid or Medicare.

alth care agencies, small was fewer than 47 current patients, medium was 47–105, and large was 106 or more. For hospice care agencies, small was 28 or fewer current patients, medium was 29–72,

e health and hospice care, small was 79 or fewer current patients (both hospice and home health care), medium was 80–224, and large was 225 or more.

ander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiple races. Only a small number of records had multiple races.

given to persons who passed tests deemed equivalent to high school-level academic skills.

distributions may not add to 100% because of rounding, or because totals and percent distributions include a category of unknowns not reported in the table. For age, race and sex, unknown responses

unknown. Unknowns are included as a separate row in the table if the overall percentage is 5% or greater. The column ‘‘all home health aides’’ includes home health aides with unknown health insurance

rs.

urvey, 2007.
Page 28 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

Table 15. Receipt of public benefits by currently employed home health aides: United States, 2007

Standard Percent Standard

Public benefits Number error distribution error

All home health aides1 ........................ 160,700 11,479 100.0 . . .

Ever received TANF, WIC, or food stamps2...... ...... 83,300 6,273 51.8 2.2

Currently receiving TANF, WIC, or food stamps ......... 15,900 3,095 9.9 1.7

Ever received TANF .......................... 38,400 4,061 23.9 1.7

Currently receiving TANF ....................... * * * *

Ever received WIC........................... 64,300 5,336 40.0 2.1

Currently receiving WIC........................ 7,800 1,575 4.8 1.0

Ever received food stamps ...................... 67,200 5,810 41.8 2.2

Currently receiving food stamps................... 10,700 2,892 6.7 1.6

Ever received SSI3

............. ............. 10,900 2,226 6.8 1.2

Currently receiving SSI ........................ †4,300 1,633 †2.7 1.0

Currently receiving housing assistance4 ....... ....... 8,700 1,862 5.4 1.1

. . . Category not applicable.

* Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is fewer than 30.

† Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision because the sample size is between 30 and 59, or the sample size is greater than 59 but has a relative standard error of 30% or

more. 1

Includes home health aides currently employed by agencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice 

care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker services or housekeeping services, assistance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were 

excluded from the survey. 2

TANF is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; WIC is Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. 3

Supplemental Security Income. 4

Includes public housing, rental subsidy, or lower rent because of government contribution. 

NOTES: For each type of benefit, less than 5% of responses were unknown. In this table, unknowns were treated as no responses. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007.

Table 16. Types of work-related injuries in the last 12 months among currently employed home health aides: United States, 2007

Standard Standard

Injuries Number error Percent error

All home health aides1 ........................ 160,700 11,480 100.0 . . .

Had at least one work-related injury2

................ 18,500 2,243 11.5 . . .

Types of work-related injuries

Total with work-related injury3 .................... 18,500 2,243 . . . . . .

Back injuries, including pulled muscles .............. 8,200 1,543 44.3 5.8

Other strains or pulled muscles ................... 8,000 1,619 43.2 6.4

Human or animal bites ........................ 1,700 482 9.4 2.4

Scratches, open wounds, or cuts .................. 2,800 581 15.2 2.9

Black eyes or other bruising ..................... 2,100 544 11.3 2.7

Other injuries .............................. 4,600 1,019 24.8 4.8

. . . Category not applicable. 1

Includes home health aides currently employed by agencies that provide home health care services, hospice care services, or both, and currently serve or recently served home health or hospice 

care patients. Agencies that provided only homemaker services or housekeeping services, assistance with instrumental activities of daily living, or durable medical equipment and supplies were 

excluded from the survey. 2

Aides were asked to report the number of times they were hurt or injured while working on the job as a home health aide and to include only work-related injuries that they reported to the agency, 

that required medical attention, or that caused them to miss work. 3

Includes multiple counts for home health aides with more than one injury. 

NOTES: Having at least one work-related injury was unknown for 1.4% of home health aides and treated as not having a work-related injury. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Home Health Aide Survey, 2007. 
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011	 Page 29

Technical Notes

Findings presented in this report

were based on data from the National

Home Health Aide Survey (NHHAS), a

supplement to the 2007 National Home

and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS).

NHHCS is a continuing series of

cross-sectional, nationally representative

sample surveys of home health and

hospice agencies in the United States.

The survey includes agencies that are

certified by Medicare or Medicaid, or

licensed by a state.

Sample design

The sampling design for NHHAS

was a stratified, two-stage probability

design. The first stage consisted of the

selection of a stratified sample of

agencies. The primary sampling strata of

agencies were defined by agency type

and metropolitan statistical area. The

second stage of sample selection was

done using a computer algorithm to

obtain systemic probability samples of

eligible home health and hospice aides.

Data collection

Data for NHHAS were collected

through telephone interviews with home

health and hospice aides using

computer-assisted telephone

interviewing or CATI. The NHHAS

overall response rate weighted by the

inverse of the probability of selection

was 41%. This rate is the product of the

weighted first-stage agency response

rate of 57% (i.e., weighted response rate

of 59% for agency participation in

NHHCS times the weighted response

rate of 97% for agencies participating in

NHHCS that also participated in

NHHAS) and the weighted second-stage

aide response rate of 72% to NHHAS. A

nonresponse bias analysis was

conducted for the first stage of the

survey (response to NHHCS) and is

discussed in the report Redesign and

Operation of the National Home and

Hospice Care Survey: 2007 (17).

A detailed description of the

sampling design, data collection, and

response rates for NHHAS is provided

in other reports (7,17) as well as online

from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

nhhas.htm.

Estimation

Because of the complex, multistage

design of NHHAS, National Center for

Health Statistics staff computed a

weight that took all sampling stages into

account. This weight was used to inflate

the sample numbers to national

estimates and included inflation by

reciprocals of selection probabilities and

adjustment for nonresponse. Further

information on the NHHAS estimation

procedures is available from: http://

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhhcsd/_

NHHCS_NHHAS_web_documentation

.pdf.

Standard errors

Because the statistics presented in

this report are based on a sample, they

differ somewhat from statistics that

would have been obtained if a complete

census had been taken using the same

schedules, instructions, and procedures.

The standard errors (SEs) of statistics

presented in this report are included in

each of the tables. The SEs used in this

report were approximated using

SUDAAN software, which computes

SEs by using a first-order Taylor

approximation of the deviation of

estimates from their expected values. A

description of the software has been

published (7). Estimates are considered

reliable if they are based on 60 or more

sample cases and the relative standard

error (RSE) is less than 30%. Estimates

based on 30–59 cases, or more than 59

cases with an RSE exceeding 30%, are

displayed with a dagger (†) and cannot

be assumed to be reliable. Estimates

based on fewer than 30 cases, indicated

with an asterisk (*), are not reported

because they do not meet standards of

reliability or precision. SEs can be

calculated for aide estimates using any

statistical software package, including

SUDAAN, as long as clustering within

agencies and other aspects of the

complex sample design are taken into

account. Software products such as

SAS, STATA, and SPSS all have these

capabilities.

Definition of terms

Terms relating to organizational

characteristics of home health and

hospice agencies

Home health care—Refers to a

range of medical and therapeutic

services as well as other services

delivered at a patient’s home or in a

residential setting for promoting,

maintaining, or restoring health, or

maximizing the level of independence,

while minimizing the effects of

disability and illness, including terminal

illness.

Hospice care—Focuses on relieving

pain and uncomfortable symptoms of

persons with terminal illness and

providing emotional and spiritual

support to both the terminally ill and

their family members.

Geographic region—Refers to a

region created by grouping

conterminous states into geographic

areas corresponding to groups used by

the U.S. Census Bureau, as follows:

Region States included

Northeast	 Maine, New Hampshire,

Vermont, Massachusetts,

Rhode Island, Connecticut,

New York, New Jersey, and

Pennsylvania

Midwest	 Michigan, Ohio, Indiana,

Illinois, Wisconsin,

Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,

North Dakota, South Dakota,

Kansas, and Nebraska

South	 Delaware, Maryland, District

of Columbia, Virginia, West

Virginia, North Carolina,

South Carolina, Georgia,

Florida, Kentucky, Texas,

Tennessee, Alabama,

Mississippi, Arkansas,

Louisiana, and Oklahoma

West	 Montana, Idaho, Wyoming,

Colorado, New Mexico,

Arizona, Utah, Nevada,

Washington, Oregon,

California, Alaska, and

Hawaii
Page 30 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

Terms related to home health

aides

Home health aide, hospice

aide—Refer to aides working for

providers that offer home health care,

hospice care, or both; are directly

employed by the agency; and provide

assistance in activities of daily living.

Terms relating to demography

Age—Indicates the home health

aide’s age at the time of interview, as

reported by the home health aide.

Hispanic or Latino origin—Refers

to a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican,

Cuban, Central or South American, or

other Spanish culture or origin,

regardless of race, as reported by the

home health aide.

Race—Consistent with the U.S.

Office of Management and Budget’s

1997 standards for the classification of

federal data on race and ethnicity, the

2007 NHHAS offered home health aides

the opportunity to select more than one

race category. All of the following

categories were read: white, African

American or black, American Indian or

Alaska Native, Asian, and Native

Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.

Marital status—Indicates the

marital status of the home health aide at

the time of the survey, as reported by

the home health aide. The categories

included: married, living with a partner

in a marriage-like relationship,

separated, divorced, widowed, and never

been married.

Education—Home health aides were

asked the highest grade or year

completed in school. Respondents citing

between 1 and 11 years as the highest

grade or year completed in school were

asked whether they received their

General Educational Development

(GED) high school equivalency

diploma. Respondents who cited 12 as

the highest grade or year completed in

school were asked whether they

received a GED, high school diploma,

or neither. College graduate was defined

as completing at least 16 years of

schooling.

Terms relating to work

environment

Activities of daily living

(ADLs)—Activities (bathing, dressing,

toileting, transferring, and eating) that

reflect a patient’s capacity for self-care.

Aides may have provided assistance

with one or more ADLs.

Terms relating to pay and benefits

Average hourly pay rate—An estimate

derived from responses to the following

questions: ‘‘Are you paid by the hour while

working at [AGENCY]?’’ Aides who

responded ‘‘yes’’ were asked: ‘‘What is

your hourly rate of pay before taxes and

deductions?’’ Those who responded ‘‘no’’

were asked: ‘‘How much do you earn,

before taxes and other deductions at

[AGENCY]? Please include tips,

commissions, and regular overtime pay.’’ A

following item identified the earnings unit

(i.e., per day, per week, once every 2

weeks, twice a month, per month, per year,

or other). When earnings were reported, the

hourly pay rate was derived using a

combination of the earnings amount, the

earnings unit, and the number of hours

worked per week.

Total time worked as a home health

aide—Aides were asked the following

question to determine total length of

time they were employed in that

occupation: ‘‘Since you first became a

home health aide, how long have you

been doing this kind of work, including

the time at your current job? Do not

count the time between jobs or time

spent on a leave of absence.’’ Categories

were 6 months or less; more than 6

months to less than 1 year; 1 to less

than 2 years; 2–5 years; 6–10 years;

11–20 years; more than 20 years.

Interviewers were instructed to read

aloud the categories if necessary.

Pay raise—The pay raise question

was asked differently depending on

home health aides’ length of

employment at the agency. Home health

aides employed at the agency less than

1 year were asked: ‘‘Since you started

your job at [AGENCY] have you been

given a pay increase?’’ Home health

aides employed at the agency 1 year or

more were asked: ‘‘During the past year,

were you given a pay increase while

working at [AGENCY]?’’

Health insurance offered/not offered

by employer—All home health aides

were asked: ‘‘Is there health insurance

coverage available to you at

[AGENCY]?’’ PROBE: This would

include insurance that is offered after a

certain number of months on the job.

PROBE: Whether you use the benefit or

not, is it available to you?

Enrolled in employer plan—Aides

offered employer-offered health

insurance were asked: ‘‘Are you

currently participating in this health

insurance plan?’’ [IF PARTIALLY

PARTICIPATING, FOR

EXAMPLE, DENTAL OR VISION,

CODE ‘‘NO.’’]

Covered by spouse or individual

plan—All aides, except those who

gave this as a reason for not

participating in their employer’s

health insurance plan, were asked:

‘‘(Not including any health

insurance you get through

[Agency], do you also/Do you)

have health insurance coverage

either through your spouse or

partner’s job or employer, or (other)

health insurance that you have

purchased on your own?’’ PROBE:

Include any coverage on a parent’s

plan.

For this report, this category

includes only aides who responded

‘‘yes’’ to this question and were

either not covered or not enrolled in

employer health insurance.

Covered by government plan—All

aides, except those who gave this as

a reason for not participating in

their employer’s health insurance

plan, were asked: ‘‘Are you

enrolled or do you participate in

any government programs that pay

for medical care such as Medicare

or Medicaid [or STATE SPECIFIC

MEDICAID NAME]?’’ PROBE:

Medicaid is a public-assistance

program that pays for medical care.

For this report, this category

includes only aides who responded

‘‘yes’’ to this question and were

either not covered or not enrolled in

employer health insurance.

Aide not covered by any plan—This

category includes aides who answered

‘‘no’’ to all of the health insurance

questions previously listed.

Agency benefits—The question on

receipt of benefits offered by home
National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 34n May 19, 2011 Page 31

health or hospice agencies was prefaced

by the statement: ‘‘The next questions

are about benefits that are available at

[AGENCY]. This would include benefits

that are offered aftera certain number

of months on the job, and includes

benefits offered to you whether you use

it or not.’’ Home health aides were then

asked to providea ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’

response to each of the following: Does

[AGENCY] offer you... paid sick

leave? Paid holidays off? Any other paid

time off, such as vacation or personal

days? Extra pay for working on

holidays?A retirement or pension plan?

(PROBE: This would not include social

security or railroad retirement benefits.)

Paid child care or child care subsidies or

assistance? Dental or vision or drug

benefits? Disability and/or life

insurance? Bonuses? Time off for good

work? Tuition reimbursement or

subsidy?A cell phone for work? Any

other benefits?

Receipt of public benefits—The

series of questions on receipt of public

benefits was prefaced by the statement:

‘‘NowI would like to ask you about

sources of income and support you may

have received.’’ Home health aides were

then asked to providea ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’

response to each of the following: + Have you ever received cash welfare

for families and children, which is

also known as TANF or Temporary

Assistance for Needy Families?

TANF used to be called AFDC, or

Aid to Families with Dependent

Children. Again, everything you tell

me is confidential. (PROBE: Please

include electronically transferred

benefits.)

+ Have you ever received food

vouchers of food items from WIC,

which is the Women, Infants, and

Children Program?

+ Have you ever received benefits from

the program called SSI or

Supplemental Security Income?

+ Have you ever received food stamp

benefits?

+ Do you currently live in public

housing, receivea rent subsidy such

as Section Eight, or paya lower rent

because the government pays part of

the cost?

For each benefit, except public housing,

aides who answered they had ever received

the benefit were then asked if they were

currently receiving the benefit.

All home health aides are included in

the denominator for calculation of the

percent distribution, whether they were

eligible for the program or not. Thus, the

percentages shown in the tables

underestimate the percentage of the eligible

population who receiveda benefit.

Terms relating to injuries

Injuries—The series of questions on

work-related injuries was prefaced by

the statement, ‘‘The next questions are

about any times you may have been hurt

or injured while working at your job as a home health aide. Include only

work-related injuries that you reported

to the agency, that required medical

attention, or that caused you to miss

work.’’

Home health aides who had worked

at least 12 months for the sampled

agency were asked about injuries in the

last 12 months, and aides who had

worked for fewer than 12 months for

the sampled agency were asked about

injuries since they started their job with

the sampled agency.

Home health aides were asked to

providea ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ response to each

of the following: back injuries, including

pulled back muscles; other strains or pulled

muscles; human bites; animal bites;

scratches, open wounds, or cuts; black eyes

or other types of bruising; burns; and other

injuries from your job.
Page 32 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 34 n May 19, 2011

Suggested citation

Bercovitz A, Moss A, Sengupta M, et al. An

overview of home health aides: United States,

2007. National health statistics reports; no 34.

Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health

Statistics. 2011.

Copyright information

All material appearing in this report is in the

public domain and may be reproduced or

copied without permission; citation as to

source, however, is appreciated.

National Center for Health Statistics

Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D., Director 

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate Director 

for Science 

Division of Health Care Statistics

Jane E. Sisk, Ph.D, Director

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics

3311 Toledo Road

Hyattsville, MD 20782

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