Studies from RTI International Provide New Data on Geriatrics and Gerontology (Effect of State Wage Policies on Direct Care Worker Wages): Aging Research – Geriatrics and Gerontology

2023 JAN 09 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Research findings on geriatrics and gerontology are discussed in a new report. According to news reporting from Waltham, Massachusetts, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Direct care workers (DCWs) have low wages and some states have tried to improve their wages through policies such as Medicaid wage pass-throughs and wage floors specific to DCWs.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from RTI International: “The purpose of this study was to examine the wages of DCWs in comparison to those of other entry level workers and assess the effect of state wage policies on changes in DCW wages. We analyzed state-level hourly wages using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data for two categories of DCWs separately-(1) home health and personal care aides and (2) nursing assistants and compared these to wages for other entry-level workers.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Results show that many states that implemented policies to improve the wages of DCWs reduced the gap between these workers’ wages and the wages of other entry-level workers, but the gap was still substantial in many states. Additional efforts will be needed to increase DCW wages.”

For more information on this research see: Effect of State Wage Policies on Direct Care Worker Wages. Innovation in Aging, 2022,6(Supplement_1). (Innovation in Aging - https://academic.oup.com/innovateage). The publisher for Innovation in Aging is Oxford University Press (OUP).

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac059.987.

Our news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Denise Tyler, RTI International, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. Additional authors for this research include Olga Khavjou, Melissa Hunter, Marie Squillace, Judith Dey, Iara Oliveira.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)