VHA Research


Safer Teams

VHA Research


Safer Teams

We are prioritizing research to improve workplace health and safety throughout the home care sector, and specifically at VHA Home HealthCare.

Illustration of healthcare worker forming a heart with their hands

Who Meets Home Care Providers’ Emotional Support Needs?

A study to better understand home care provider’s perspectives on their emotional support needs, current and preferred sources of support, and barriers to accessing resources during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Man with personal support worker

Building a Sustainable Supply of Home Care RPNs through Employer-based Tuition-assistance Programs

This study looked at workplace tuition-assistance programs, that are designed to give employees opportunities to grow while improving retention, during the pandemic.
Personal Support Worker with a foggy face shield

Solutions to prevent fogging of face shields and goggles

This study examined 14 products for their effectiveness to prevent face shield and goggle fogging. The products were evaluated for their effectiveness in preventing fogging of a face-shield through two phases of testing.
Thank you doctors and nurses banner in flat design illustration. Side faces of multi ethnic medical workers with protective face mask, surgical suit and face shield

Determinants of Nurses' and PSWs' adherence to facial protective equipment in the community during COVID-19

A literature review assessed publications from 2005 – 2020 for FPE compliance in health care settings.
Magnet attracting people

How has COVID-19 and COVID related policies impacted PSW absences?

A statistical analyses of VHA’s administrative data to understand patterns in PSW absences through the pandemic, and to explore the impact of public health and wage enhancement policies on rates of work absences.
A crowd of different ages of people in medical masks

Experiences of Homecare PSWs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study is to better understand the experiences of PSWs working in homecare during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Screenshot from VHA's Spot It! Prevent It! training video

Spot It! Prevent It!

This study aims to determine whether the implementation of a rapid response algorithm for managing workplace violence.
A cartoon drawing of lungs

PSW Ergonomics in Home Care

The goal of this project is to identify and clearly (quantitative) describe the elements of home care providers’ work that contribute most to their risk of musculoskeletal injury.
Hand washing

Testing the Hand Dermatitis Screening Tool

This study assessed the frequency of hand dermatitis in home care workers, identified factors that influence presence of disease, and explored feasibility and importance of workplace screening in the home care sector.
Drawing of handing holding each other

Occupational Hand Dermatitis in Healthcare

This project brought on the development and evaluation of a 10-minute e-module for early identification, management, and prevention of occupational hand dermatitis