Home Health Aide

154 Hours / 12 Months / Self-Paced

Course Overview:

Home Health Aides work directly with individuals in their homes to provide assistance with daily living and self-care tasks.  Home health aides help people who are disabled, chronically ill, or cognitively impaired. They often help older adults who need assistance. In some states, home health aides may be able to give a client medication or check the client’s vital signs under the direction of a nurse or other healthcare practitioner.  This course will provide a comprehensive overview of the Home Health Aide profession through the use of theoretical and practical applications.  Students will learn about the medical and social needs of home health care clients, as well as the nutrition, personal care, cleaning, and infection control tasks required of Home Health Aides. Upon completion of this course, students will be fully prepared to begin working with clients in their homes. In addition,  this course will provide an initial educational foundation for students preparing to take state licensing or certification exams. However, since the requirements for each state differ, students will have to conduct their own research to determine state-specific certification requirements. Depending on the state requirements, the student may need to complete additional coursework or additional licensing requirements (e.g. externship or other work experience) beyond the completion of this course.

Students will:
  • Identify the home health agency rules
  • Describe the medical and social needs of home health care clients.
  • Identify the personal care services that are provided by the home health aide.
  • Identify the nutritional support needs of home care clients.
  • Describe the cleaning tasks that home health aides are responsible for.
  • Identify the infection prevention strategies used in home health care.
  • Identify the additional tasks that a home health aide may be expected to perform beyond the scope of basic job functions.

Course Outline:

Lesson One: Home Care and the Healthcare System

In this lesson, you will learn about the roles of the home health agency.  You will learn about state and federal requirements for HHA certification, as well as the purpose and goals of home health care. You will also learn about the roles and responsibilities of the home health aide.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of the roles of the home health agency and will be prepared to delve into the specific components of home health care.

Lesson Two: Building a Foundation

In this lesson, you will build a foundation of skills that will help you provide the best care for your clients.  You will identify the specific physical care responsibilities of home health aides, and develop communication skills and cultural awareness. This lesson will also provide information regarding proper body mechanics, patient safety, infection control, and emergency care and disaster preparation. Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of the basic foundational responsibilities of the home health aide.

Lesson Three: A Holistic Approach to Understanding Clients

In this lesson, you will learn about the medical and social needs of home care clients.  You will identify the specific physical care responsibilities of home health aides, including the care needs of special populations such as the elderly, mentally ill, and those with physical and developmental disabilities. You will also learn about the different levels of need for home care patients and will develop strategies to assist them in each level.  Finally, you will learn about common diseases and disorders in the home health care setting.

Lesson Four: Developing Personal Care and Basic Healthcare Skills

In this lesson, you will learn about the personal care services performed by home health aides. Most patients will require assistance with personal care, and the home health aide is responsible for providing that assistance. This lesson will provide specific guidelines for providing personal care.  You will learn about positioning, transfers and ambulation, core healthcare skills, personal healthcare skills, and the various medications and technology common in home healthcare settings.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of the personal care services performed by home health aides.

Lesson Five: Special Clients, Special Needs

In this lesson, you will learn about the specific medical and social needs of home care clients with special needs. You will identify the specific physical care responsibilities of home health aides for special populations such as the elderly, mentally ill, and those with physical and developmental disabilities. You will also learn about the different levels of care for new mothers, infants, and children. Hospice and palliative care is a special field of home health care, and this lesson will provide information regarding the responsibilities of home health aides when dealing with dying and hospice care patients.  Finally, you will learn about providing rehabilitation and restorative care in the home health setting.

Lesson Six: Practical Knowledge and Skills in Home Management

In this lesson, you will learn about the household maintenance and daily care tasks that a home health aide is responsible for. You will learn about the importance of maintaining a clean environment for your clients, and the risks involved with unsanitary conditions. Since most patients require home health care because of limitations, they are typically unable to perform many cleaning tasks. Therefore, the home health aide is responsible for assisting in this area. You will also learn about the role of nutrition in-home care. You will learn about the varying nutritional needs of the home health care patients, as well as the guidelines for providing proper nutrition. You will learn about the different types of nutrition and feeding adaptations. You will also learn about food safety guidelines and the proper handling and distribution of food.

Lesson Seven: Finding and Maintaining Employment

In this lesson, you will learn about the Home Health Aide job search process. You will learn about the different career options available to home health aides. You will also learn how to secure and maintain employment. Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of how to pursue and maintain employment as a home health aide.

All necessary materials included.


System Requirements:

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:
  • Cable and DSL internet connections are recommended for the best experience.
Hardware Requirements:
  • CPU: 1 GHz or higher
  • RAM: 2 GB or higher
  • Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher
  • Speakers / Headphones
  • Microphone (Webinar / Live Online sessions)
Operating System Requirements:
  • Microsoft Windows 7 or 10 (Home, Pro)
  • Mac OSX 10 or higher.
  • Latest Chrome OS
  • Latest Linux Distributions

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:
  • Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
  • Latest Mozilla FireFox
  • Latest Microsoft Edge
  • Latest Apple Safari
Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):
  • Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
  • PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
  • Courses may require other software that is denoted in the above course outline.