Interested in Joining the Study?

young woman caregiver and young man with a developmental disability taking a selfie outside while wearing masks

The KU Center for Research on Aging and Disability Options is looking for research participants for a study on Medicaid/KanCare Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) during the COVID-19 Pandemic. We want to know how the HCBS system meet consumer, worker, and caregivers needs during the pandemic and whether there were any unmet needs.

You can participate in this study if you are an adult who falls into one of the following groups:

1. A person who receives in-home care services paid for by Medicaid/KanCare.

  • A KanCare HCBS consumer, including those on the Frail Elderly (FE), Physical Disability (PD), Brain Injury (BI), or the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) waivers.
  • If you received in-home care through the WORK or PACE programs rather than HCBS, you also qualify to participate.  
  • It is OK if you reduced or stopped receiving care during the pandemic.

2. A worker who provides paid in-home care services.

  • A Direct Service Worker (DSW), Personal Care Attendant (PCA), or Home Care Aide (HCA) who serves KanCare waiver consumers and who worked in this field before or during the pandemic.
  • If you quit your job or reduced hours during the pandemic, we would still like to hear from you.
  • In-home care workers can be employed by the person directly or through an agency.

3. A provider or other community agency professional who services the KanCare HCBS population, with experience before and during the pandemic.

4. A caregiver who supported a family member or friend receiving waiver services during the pandemic

There are two ways to participate in this study. (compensation provided)

  1. Complete our survey
    •  Anonymous surveys take approximately 20 minutes to complete.  You can complete the survey online at your convenience or schedule a phone survey.
  2. Participate in a confidential interview 
    • Confidential interviews last about 1 to 1 ½ hours by phone or Zoom and are scheduled for a time that works well for you.

If you are potentially interested in joining the study, please complete our questionnaire at Homecare Study Interest Survey or send us an email at homecarestudy@ku.edu.  Your name and contact information will be kept confidential by the research team and not shared with others. This includes that your name is not shared with Advisory Board members or the funder.