Developing a health interview tool for Medicaid home and community-based services clients and home care aides through a community-engaged approach.

We describe a community-engaged approach to develop and pilot a home care aide (HCA) administered health interview with Medicaid Home and Community-based Services clients. Stakeholders identified five priority health topics and selected a card sorting methodology for interviews. A barrier to interviewing clients was decreased communication skills among HCAs, and we modified health interview training to include communication training. Stakeholders reported the interview methodology was feasible within usual care, acceptable to clients, and contributed to increased knowledge on providing person-centered care. Stakeholder engagement resulted in valuable insights regarding the health interview methodology and relevant training needs.

Design and development of a mobile exercise application for home care aides and older adult medicaid home and community-based clients.

We describe a community-engaged approach with Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS), home care aide (HCA), client, and physical therapist stakeholders to develop a mobile application (app) exercise intervention through focus groups and interviews. Participants desired a short exercise program with modification capabilities, goal setting, and mechanisms to track progress. Concerns regarding participation were training needs and feasibility within usual care services. Technological preferences were for simple, easy-to-use, and engaging content. The app was piloted with HCA-client dyads (n = 5) to refine the intervention and evaluate content. Engaging stakeholders in intervention development provides valuable user-feedback on both desired exercise program contents and mobile technology preferences for HCBS recipients.