Safe Home Care

The UMass Lowell Safe Home Care Program (grant number R01OH008229) has been funded since 2004 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The earliest research focused on sharps injuries and other blood exposures in home healthcare and expanded in 2010 to investigate a broad range of occupational hazards and good practices. The next phase, starting in 2014 was undertaken to develop guidance for the home care industry on effective and safe cleaning & disinfection products and practices. More recently (2019), NIOSH funded the Safe Home Care Project to conduct an intervention study with the aim of improving the safety of home care workers and their clients in the client home. The Research Team partners with home care industry stakeholders, such as private home care agencies, home care industry associations, labor unions, and government agencies.

Why Home Care

Home care is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States due to increasing number of aging population, advanced medical procedures available in the home, the desire of most people to be cared for at home, and healthcare cost containment. Home care professionals do important work by making independent living more possible, healthier, and safer for millions of people across the United States. Little attention has been paid to homes as workplaces or to occupational safety and health of home care aides, nurses, and other clinicians who may encounter highly variable and sometimes challenging situations in delivery of these critical services. Our research promotes a healthy and productive home care and health care workforce.

For more information, contact Catherine Galligan, Program Manager, phone: 978-934-3386, email: SafeHomeCare@uml.edu.

See our Research Areas.