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31-1121.00 · Task explorer

Home Health Aides: reported tasks and exploration worksheet

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.

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Read the task inventory

This source lists 15 tasks, including 12 marked Core and 3 marked Supplemental. Labels and dates are retained below. Employers can combine or divide these responsibilities differently; explore the task itself before assuming it belongs in every version of the role.

Task source dates: 08/2026.

15 tasks shown

Core · Task 4245 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Plan, purchase, prepare, or serve meals to patients or other family members, according to prescribed diets.

Core · Task 18694 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Care for patients by changing bed linens, washing and ironing laundry, cleaning, or assisting with their personal care.

Core · Task 20577 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Bathe patients.

Core · Task 4240 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Maintain records of patient care, condition, progress, or problems to report and discuss observations with supervisor or case manager.

Core · Task 4241 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Provide patients with help moving in and out of beds, baths, wheelchairs, or automobiles and with dressing and grooming.

Core · Task 4247 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Check patients' pulse, temperature, and respiration.

Core · Task 4244 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Entertain, converse with, or read aloud to patients to keep them mentally healthy and alert.

Core · Task 4242 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

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.

Core · Task 4246 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Direct patients in simple prescribed exercises or in the use of braces or artificial limbs.

Core · Task 4250 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Accompany clients to doctors' offices or on other trips outside the home, providing transportation, assistance, and companionship.

Core · Task 18695 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Administer prescribed oral medications, under the written direction of physician or as directed by home care nurse or aide, and ensure patients take their medicine.

Core · Task 4249 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Perform a variety of duties as requested by client, such as obtaining household supplies or running errands.

Supplemental · Task 4248 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Change dressings.

Supplemental · Task 4252 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Care for children with disabilities or who have sick parents or parents with disabilities.

Supplemental · Task 4253 · 08/2026 · Incumbent

Massage patients or apply preparations or treatments, such as liniment, alcohol rubs, or heat-lamp stimulation.

Make the shortlist useful

  1. Choose one to three activities that tell you something different about the work. Avoid selecting several ways of describing the same interest.
  2. For each, write an example you can discuss or a question that would change your understanding of the role.
  3. Keep source task IDs with your notes so you can return to the same description. Do not include private employer or customer information.

The exported worksheet distinguishes the reported task from your own notes. It supports exploration, not a hiring decision or a validated assessment.

Keep your worksheet

Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.

Source and practice material

Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.

Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.