Personal Care Assistant

A person who provides hands-on assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) to people with disabilities or older adults who need support with tasks such as bathing, dressing, toileting, grooming, eating, and transferring. PCAs may be formally employed through agencies or government programs, or may be family members providing informal care. While PCA support is essential for many people with motor impairments, reliance on PCAs raises concerns about privacy during intimate tasks, scheduling constraints that limit spontaneity and independence, the financial burden of hiring assistance, and communication barriers. Assistive technology and multimodal input systems have the potential to reduce — though not necessarily eliminate — dependence on PCAs for certain tasks.