Direct care workers (DCWs) provide personal care, emotional support, and companionship, helping older adults maintain quality lives. DCWs earn low wages, have little training, and experience high turnover rates. While the demand for DCWs grows, real wages continue to fall. Undervaluing DCWs threatens the continuity and quality of care that older adults receive. Through the social work grand challenges lens, this article discusses two qualitative studies, in home care (n = 24) and nursing homes (n = 23), that demonstrate that while DCWs help advance long and productive lives, they experience extreme economic inequality and lack equal opportunity and justice. The article concludes with a discussion of social work’s role in advancing opportunity and justice.

中文翻译：

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老年人的直接护理：护理系统如何使重大挑战长期存在以及社会工作者可以做些什么

直接护理人员 (DCW) 提供个人护理、情感支持和陪伴，帮助老年人维持优质生活。DCW 工资低，培训少，离职率高。虽然对 DCW 的需求增长，但实际工资继续下降。低估 DCW 会威胁到老年人接受的护理的连续性和质量。通过社会工作大挑战的视角，本文讨论了两项定性研究，即家庭护理 (n = 24) 和疗养院 (n = 23)，这表明虽然 DCW 有助于促进长寿和富有成效的生活，但他们经历了极端的经济不平等和缺乏平等的机会和正义。文章最后讨论了社会工作在促进机会和正义方面的作用。