Healthcare Support · Holland code SRC
Home Health Aides
Monitor the health status of an individual with disabilities or illness, and address their health-related needs, such as changing bandages, dressing wounds, or administering medication. Work is performed under the direction of offsite or intermittent onsite licensed nursing staff. Provide assistance with routine healthcare tasks or activities of daily living, such as feeding, bathing, toileting, or ambulation. May also help with tasks such as preparing meals, doing light housekeeping, and doing laundry depending on the patient's abilities.
Also called: Caregiver, CHHA (Certified Home Health Aide), CMA (Certified Medical Aide), Home Care Aide, CNA (Certified Nurses Aide), Direct Care Professional, Home Health Provider, Hospice Aide.
O*NET 31-1121.00
At a glance
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Plan, purchase, prepare, or serve meals to patients or other family members, according to prescribed diets.
- Care for patients by changing bed linens, washing and ironing laundry, cleaning, or assisting with their personal care.
- Bathe patients.
- Maintain records of patient care, condition, progress, or problems to report and discuss observations with supervisor or case manager.
- Provide patients with help moving in and out of beds, baths, wheelchairs, or automobiles and with dressing and grooming.
- Check patients' pulse, temperature, and respiration.
- Entertain, converse with, or read aloud to patients to keep them mentally healthy and alert.
- Provide patients and families with emotional support and instruction in areas such as caring for infants, preparing healthy meals, living independently, or adapting to disability or illness.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening3.9 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.1 / 5
- Monitoring3.1 / 5
- Speaking3.0 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
- Writing2.9 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Psychology4.2 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service3.8 / 5
- Medicine and Dentistry3.7 / 5
- English Language3.5 / 5
- Public Safety and Security3.5 / 5
- Therapy and Counseling3.5 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic54
- Investigative36
- Artistic8
- Social89
- Enterprising13
- Conventional42
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- palliative care social worker · DE Sozialarbeiter im Bereich Palliativversorgung/Sozialarbeiterin im Bereich Palliativversorgung · FR assistant de service social dans une unité de soins palliatifs/assistante de service social dans une unité de soins palliatifs
- community health worker · DE Sozialmedizinischer Assistent/Sozialmedizinische Assistentin · FR agent de santé communautaire/agente de santé communautaire
- adult community care worker · DE Sozialbetreuer für Erwachsene/Sozialbetreuerin für Erwachsene · FR auxiliaire de vie en structure d’hébergement pour adultes
- care at home worker · DE Sozialbetreuer häusliche Betreuung/Sozialbetreuerin häusliche Betreuung · FR assistant de vie dépendance/assistante de vie dépendance
- disability support worker · DE Sozialbetreuer Behindertenbetreuung/Sozialbetreuerin Behindertenbetreuung · FR assistant de vie auprès de personnes handicapées/assistante de vie auprès de personnes handicapées
- residential care home worker · DE Sozialbetreuer Betreuungseinrichtung/Sozialbetreuerin Betreuungseinrichtung · FR assistant de vie en structure d’hébergement/assistante de vie en structure d’hébergement
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Housing officers (3223)57,900 employed
- Senior care workers (6136)111,600 employed
- Social workers (2461)139,800 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Japan
Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “訪問介護従事者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.
- Median monthly pay
- ¥262,300
- Middle half earn ¥226,800 to ¥299,100 a month.
- Workers in the category
- 83,920
- Regular employees in firms of ten or more.
Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €50,992 |
| Austria | €46,986 |
| Germany | €44,473 |
| Netherlands | €42,448 |
| Ireland | €41,613 |
| Sweden | €41,155 |
| Italy | €34,882 |
| France | €34,816 |
| Spain | €29,757 |
| Portugal | €18,080 |
| Poland | €12,108 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Related careers
Is it a fit for you?
Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.
Take the career interests test