Caring for Old People in New York and London: The ‘Nurses’ Aide’ Interviews1

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Abstract
As part of a comparative study of the institutionalized elderly in London and New York, random samples of nurses’ aides, nursing assistants and care assistants were interviewed. It is shown that the two long-term care ‘systems’ employ very similar people to provide basic care services, but far more in-service training is provided for New York staff. A detailed analysis of tasks performed suggests that New York staff may be more likely than their London counterparts to carry out technical ‘nursing’ procedures and to be actively involved in physical rehabilitation. The preferences of staff in caring for more or less dependent people showed considerable cross-national agreement, almost half of the total respondents reporting that they preferred immobile patients. Some of the reasons they gave are presented and the implications of this finding discussed.

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