Job satisfaction and associated variables among nurse assistants working in residential care

How is leadership experienced in joy-of-life-nursing-homes compared to ordinary nursing homes: a qualitative study

Background

Nursing homes are under strong pressure to provide good care to the patients. In Norway, municipalities have applied the ‘Joy-of-Life-Nursing-Homes’ (JoLNH) strategy which is based on a health-promoting approach building on the older persons’ resources. Meanwhile job satisfaction is closely related to less intention to leave, less turnover and reduced sick leave. The knowledge about adjustable influences related with job satisfaction might help nursing home leaders to minimize turnover and preserve high quality of care. This study explores leadership in Norwegian nursing homes with and without implementation of JoLNH: How does leadership influence the work environment and how is leadership experienced in JoLNH compared to ordinary Nursing Homes?

Method

We used a qualitative approach and interviewed 19 health care personnel working in nursing homes in two Norwegian municipalities. The analysis was conducted following Kvale’s approach to qualitative analysis.

Results

The main categories after the data condensing were [1] the importance of leadership, and [2] the importance of leadership for the work environment in a municipality with (a) and without (b) an implementation of the JoLNH strategy.

Conclusions

The health care personnel in the municipality with an implementation of JoLNH emphasize that the leader’s influence may lead to increased motivation among the staff and better control of changes and implementation processes. Our findings may indicate that the employee from a JoLNH municipality experience a more trustful relationship to the leader.

You can tell it works - Experiences from using the VIPS practice model in primary healthcare

INTRODUCTION

Person-centred care is a philosophy rather than a method ready for implementation and utilization in daily clinical work. Internationally, few methods for person-centred care have been widely adopted in clinical dementia care practice. In Norway, the VIPS practice model is one that is commonly used for the implementation and use of person-centred care in primary healthcare.

METHOD

Nursing home physicians, managers and leaders in the municipalities, care institutions and domestic nursing care services were eligible for inclusion if their workplace had implemented and used the VIPS practice model for a minimum of 12 months. Individual interviews were conducted via Facetime, Skype or telephone and analysed with qualitative content analysis.

FINDINGS

In all, 20 respondents were included: one manager of health and care services in the municipality, six managers and leaders working in domestic care or daytime activity centres and 10 managers/leaders and three physicians working in nursing homes. Two global categories emerged: category 1: Change in staff's professional reasoning with two sub-categories: (a) an enhanced professional level in discussions and (b) a change in focus from task to person; and category 2: Changes in the clinical work, with three sub-categories: (a) effective interventions, (b) a person-centred work environment and (c) changes in cooperation between stakeholders.

CONCLUSION

Regular use of the VIPS practice model appeared to change the work culture for the benefit of both service users and frontline staff. Increased cooperation between frontline staff, nurses, physicians and next of kin was described. Staff were more focused on the needs of the service users, which resulted in care interventions tailored to the needs of the individual with dementia, loyalty to care plans and fewer complaints from next of kin.

How staff characteristics influence residential care facility staff's attitude toward person-centered care and informal care

BACKGROUND

Staff members, and their attitudes, are crucial for providing person-centered care in residential care facilities for people with dementia. However, the literature on the attitudes of nursing staff regarding person-centered care is limited. The objective of this study is to explore the association between staff characteristics (age, education level, years of work experience and function, i.e., care or welfare) and staff attitudes toward perceived person-centered care provision and including informal caregivers in the caregiving process in residential care facilities.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 68 care staff - nurses and nurse assistants - welfare staff members - activity counselors, hostesses, and living room caretakers - of two residential care facilities filled out a questionnaire. Staff attitudes regarding perceived person-centered care were measured with the Person-centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT). Staff attitudes regarding informal care provision were measured with the Attitudes Toward Families Checklist (AFC). Multiple linear regression analysis explored the association between variables age, work experience, education, and function (care or welfare).

RESULTS

A higher age of staff was associated with a more negative attitude toward perceived person-centered care and informal care provision. Welfare staff had a more negative attitude toward the inclusion of informal caregivers than care staff. The perceived person-centered care provision of the care and welfare staff was both positive. Work experience and education were not associated with perceived person-centered care provision or informal care provision.

CONCLUSION

This study is one of the first to provide insight into the association between staff characteristics and their attitude toward their perceived person-centered care provision and informal care provision. A higher age of both the care and welfare staff was associated with a more negative attitude toward their perceived person-centered care and informal care provision. Welfare staff had a less positive attitude toward informal care provision. Additionally, future studies, also observational studies and interview studies, are necessary to collect evidence on the reasons for negative attitudes of older staff members towards PCC and informal care giving, to be able to adequately target these reasons by implementing interventions that eliminate or reduce these negative attitudes.

The influence of nursing home managers' leadership on person-centred care and stress of conscience: A cross-sectional study

Background

Leadership and stress are common concepts in nursing, and this study explores empirically the connection between leadership and stress of conscience in the context of aged care practice. Previous literature has shown that when staff are unable to carry out their ethical liabilities towards the residents, feelings of guilt may occur among staff, which may be an expression of stress of conscience. Although leadership has been described as crucial for staff’s work perceptions of stress as well as for person-centred practices, the influence of nursing home managers’ leadership on stress of conscience among staff and person-centred practices is still not fully explored. This study attempts to address that knowledge gap by exploring the relationship between leadership, person-centred care, and stress of conscience.

Methods

This study was based on a cross-sectional national survey of 2985 staff and their managers in 190 nursing homes throughout Sweden. Descriptive statistics and regression modelling were used to explore associations.

Results

Leadership was associated with a higher degree of person-centred care and less stress of conscience. A higher degree of person-centred care was also associated with less stress of conscience. The results also showed that leadership as well as person-centred care were individually associated with lower levels of stress of conscience when adjusting for potential confounders.

Conclusion

Nursing home managers’ leadership was significantly associated with less staff stress of conscience and more person-centred care. This indicates that a leadership most prominently characterised by coaching and giving feedback, relying on staff and handling conflicts constructively, experimenting with new ideas, and controlling work individually can contribute to less staff stress as well as higher degree of person-centred care provision.

Reliability Generalization Study of the Person-Centered Care Assessment Tool

The so-called Person-Centered Care (PCC) model identifies three fundamental principles: changing the focus of attention from the disease to the person, individualizing care, and promoting empowerment. The Person-Centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT) has gained wide acceptance as a measure of PCC in recent years due to its brevity and simplicity, as well as its ease of application and interpretation. The objective of this study is to carry out a reliability generalization meta-analysis to estimate the internal consistency of the P-CAT and analyze possible factors that may affect it, such as the year of publication, the care context, the application method, and certain sociodemographic properties of the study sample. The mean value of α for the 25 samples of the 23 studies in the meta-analysis was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.79-0.84), with high heterogeneity (squared-I = 85.83%). The only variable that had a statistically significant relationship with the reliability coefficient was the mean age of the sample. The results show that the P-CAT gives acceptably consistent scores when its use is oriented toward the description and investigation of groups, although it may be affected by variables such as the age of participants.

Characteristics of nursing home units with high versus low levels of person-centred care in relation to leadership, staff- resident- and facility factors: findings from SWENIS, a cross-sectional study in Sweden

BACKGROUND

The context of care consists of factors that determines the extent to which staff can offer person-centred care. However, few studies have investigated factors that can explain variation in levels of person-centred care among nursing home units. The aim of this study was to explore factors characterizing nursing home units with high and low degree of person-centred care, with focus on leadership, staff, resident and facility factors.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data from residents, staff, and managers in 172 randomly selected nursing homes in Sweden were collected in 2014. Activities of Daily Living Index, Gottfries' cognitive scale, Person-centred Care Assessment Tool together with demographic information and estimations of leadership engagement was used. Independent samples t-test and Chi2 test were conducted.

RESULTS

Highly person-centred units were characterised by leaders engaging in staff knowledge, professional development, team support and care quality. In highly person-centred units' staff also received supervision of a nurse to a larger extent. Highly person-centred units were also characterised as dementia specific units, units with fewer beds and with a larger proportion of enrolled nurses. No differences in degree of person-centred care were seen between public or private providers.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides guidance for practitioners when designing, developing and adapting person-centred units in aged care contexts. Managers and leaders have an important role to promote the movement towards a person-centred practice of care, by supporting their staff in daily care, and engaging in staff knowledge and professional development. Targeting and adjusting environmental factors, such as provide small and dementia adapted environments to match the residents' personal preferences and capacity are also important when striving towards person-centredness.

Meetings are an Important Prerequisite for Flourishing Workplace Relationships

Relationships among colleagues, managers, and care recipients are mutually important, and need to be highlighted in workplace health promotion. The aim was to explore prerequisites for flourishing workplace relationships in a municipal healthcare setting for old people. As part of this process, we explored the staff’s suggestions on how work relationships could be improved. The study had a salutogenic and participatory approach, examining staff perceptions of what was required for flourishing relationships to be created, and their suggestions for the relationships to be more promotive. Four multi-stage focus groups, which met three times each, were conducted with staff (n = 26) in old age healthcare settings. A deductive analysis was performed, based on components of the flourishing concept: challenge, connectivity, autonomy, and competence. Informal and formal meetings at work were shown to build positively perceived relationships. The study describes meetings and relationships connected to the four components of flourishing. Suggestions for improving work relationships are also presented. This study contributes to workplace health promotion, and has a salutogenic and participatory focus on how to explore workplace relationships as a resource. The flourishing concept shows how workplace relationships can be explored as prerequisites for workplace health promotion.

'We must have a new VIPS meeting soon!' Barriers and facilitators for implementing the VIPS practice model in primary health care

Introduction

Person-centred care is a philosophy of care rather than a method ready for implementation and utilisation in daily work. Internationally, few methods for the implementation of person-centred care have been widely adopted in clinical and care practice. In Norway, the VIPS practice model is a commonly used model for person-centred care implementation.

Method

Qualitative manifest content analysis was used. Managers and leaders in the municipalities, care institutions and domestic nursing care services were eligible for inclusion if their workplace had implemented the VIPS practice model and conducted the consensus meeting regularly for a minimum of 12 months. Seventeen respondents were included. Individual interviews were conducted either via FaceTime, Skype or telephone.

Results

Three global categories emerged describing the implementation process: (1) factors that impact the decision made at municipal level to implement person-centred care; (2) requirements for a good start at unit level and (3) factors that help to support the new routines in the unit. The categories were entwined; the results of one affected the results of the others. The informants from both domestic nursing care and institutions described the same factors as important for the implementation of the VIPS practice model.

Conclusion

To implement person-centred care by use of the VIPS practice model, the frontline staff need sufficient information about the rationale for implementing the model. The management’s vision and ethos of person-centred care must be followed by time set aside for staff training and regularly scheduled VIPS practice model consensus meetings. Head nurses are key to getting the new routines established and maintained and should be supported by the management.

Association between person-centred care and healthcare providers' job satisfaction and work-related health: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review aimed to explore and describe the research on associations between person-centred care (PCC) and healthcare provider outcomes, for example, job satisfaction and work-related health.

DESIGN

Scoping review.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Studies were included if they were empirical studies that analysed associations between PCC measurement tools and healthcare providers outcomes.

SEARCH STRATEGY

Searches in PubMed, CINAHL, Psychinfo and SCOPUS databases were conducted to identify relevant studies published between 2001 and 2019. Two authors independently screened studies for inclusion.

RESULTS

Eighteen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Twelve studies were cross-sectional, four quasi-experimental, one longitudinal and one randomised controlled trial. The studies were carried out in Sweden, The Netherlands, the USA, Australia, Norway and Germany in residential care, nursing homes, safety net clinics, a hospital and community care. The healthcare provider outcomes consisted of job satisfaction, burnout, stress of conscience, psychosocial work environment, job strain and intent to leave. The cross-sectional studies found significant associations, whereas the longitudinal studies revealed no significant effects of PCC on healthcare provider outcomes over time.

CONCLUSION

Most studies established a positive association between PCC and healthcare provider outcomes. However, due to the methodological variation, a robust conclusion could not be generated. Further research is required to establish the viability of implementing PCC for the improvement of job satisfaction and work-related health outcomes through rigorous and consistent research.

Person-Centered Care Environment Associated With Care Staff Outcomes in Long-Term Care Facilities

BACKGROUND

Although a general implementation of person-centered care in Korean long-term care delivery systems would be challenging, person-centered care has the potential to improve resident and staff outcomes through changes in current care services. However, little empirical evidence currently supports a positive relationship between person-centered care environments and staff outcomes.

PURPOSE

This study was designed to examine the relationship between person-centered care environments and staff outcomes, including job satisfaction and turnover intention, among care staff in Korean long-term care facilities.

METHODS

This descriptive, correlational study used data from 235 care staff (94 nursing staff and 141 personal care workers) in 13 long-term care facilities in Korea. Data were collected using structured survey questionnaires, including items related to the person-centered care environment, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Multilevel linear and logistic regression analyses were performed using Mplus Version 7.0.

RESULTS

After controlling for individual (age, education, monthly income, position, shift work, and job tenure) and organizational (type of facility, location, ownership, bed size, and staffing levels) characteristics, a significant relationship was found between the person-centered care environment and job satisfaction and turnover intention among staff in Korean long-term care facilities.

CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

The study findings indicate that working in a person-centered care environment is key to higher job satisfaction, which is a significant predictor of turnover intention among staff in long-term care facilities. To recruit and retain qualified staff to provide high-quality person-centered care in long-term care facilities, a supportive work environment is crucial. Fostering a person-centered care environment will ultimately improve quality of care for residents.

'Tell someone who cares': Participation action research on workplace engagement of caregivers in aged residential care, NZ

OBJECTIVE

To use participatory action research (PAR) to understand workplace engagement of caregivers in aged residential care (ARC) in New Zealand.

METHODS

A PAR study was conducted in a 40-bed ARC facility providing rest home- and hospital-level care in rural New Zealand. The four-step study included an advisory group of caregivers (N = 6) who co-designed the process. Data were collected via verbatim transcripts of four advisory group meetings, five interviews with staff and field notes over a period of six months. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

A model was developed to describe factors that encouraged caregivers' engagement in their work. Caregivers were more engaged in their workplace when the influencers of 'Communication', 'Contributing to the workplace' and 'Caring for oneself' were present and when they experienced 'feeling valued', 'being heard' and 'being listened to'.

CONCLUSION

Factors influencing positive changes in workplace engagement were identified that could be considered when implementing organisational change or service development in other ARC facilities. These factors could potentially increase productivity and quality of care at little cost, as well as improve workplace satisfaction.

Effects of a person-centred and thriving-promoting intervention on nursing home staff job satisfaction: A multi-centre, non-equivalent controlled before-after study

Aim

To evaluate the effects of a person‐centred and thriving‐promoting intervention in nursing homes on staff job satisfaction, stress of conscience and the person‐centredness of care and of the environment.

Design

A multi‐centre, non‐equivalent control group, before–after trial design.

Methods

Staff (N = 341) from six nursing homes in Australia, Norway and Sweden were assigned to the intervention or the control group and both groups were evaluated before the intervention, immediately after and by 6 months follow‐up. Staff completed a questionnaire about job satisfaction (primary endpoint), stress of conscience and the person‐centredness of care and of the environment (secondary endpoints). Linear regression models were used to identify the mean scores and to analyse group differences to test the effects of the intervention.

Results

The intervention had no statistically significant effects on staff job satisfaction, level of stress of conscience or the perceived person‐centredness of care and of the environment.

Exploring residential care aide experiences with oral malodour in long-term care

Aim

To determine what experiences do residential care aides (RCAs) have with individuals living with oral malodour in a long-term care (LTC) facility?

Design

Study investigation was done using an interpretive qualitative approach paired with a social constructivism interpretive framework.

Methods

The study was conducted in May of 2015 through face-to-face interviews with RCAs, which were recorded and transcribed verbatim, observations of RCAs in their work environment, as well as RCA personal logs of their daily experiences with odour during caregiving. Thereafter, data were analysed and coded for emerging themes.

Results

Five major themes were identified after grouping the codes: 1) attitudes and behaviours when caring for residents with malodour; 2)RCA knowledge of oral malodour; 3) level of job satisfaction among RCAs that care for residents with malodour; 4) culture and malodour; and 5) challenges of care giving compounded by malodour. These themes depict the overall experiences of study participants.

Dementia Care Education Targeting Job Strain and Organizational Climate Among Dementia Care Specialists in Swedish Home Care Services

Introduction

An increasing number of older persons live at home with various limitations, such as dementia, requiring well-educated and trained home care staff to meet their complex care needs. Dementia care specialists working in home care service have reported high levels of job strain in comparison with home care staff in general.

Aim

This pilot study aims to evaluate the effects of a dementia care education model targeting self-reported job strain and organizational climate, among dementia care specialists in home care service.

Methods

A quasi-experimental, one-group pretest–posttest design was applied, with 12 months’ follow-up. Participants were dementia care specialists who worked in home care service (n=34 baseline; n=30 follow-up). The data were collected using the Strain in Dementia Care Scale and Creative Climate Questionnaires, administered pre- and post-intervention. The intervention applied an educational model based on previous research in dementia care and a person-centered approach.

Results

The educational model was implemented in the context of home care services. Of 34 participants at baseline, only 21 responded to the questionnaires, due to a drop off of 13 participants and recruitment of 9 new participants (follow-up=30). A significantly reduced perceived job strain among the participants was detected, indicating perceiving less difficulty in “Balancing competing needs” when caring for the older persons. No significant difference was found in the self-reported creative organizational climate between the two occasions.

Conclusion

The educational model could be integrated into dementia home care and it seemed to reduce job strain among dementia care specialists. Future studies are needed to evaluate the effects of the intervention using a stronger study design and a larger sample.

Embodying person-centred being and doing: Leading towards person-centred care in nursing homes as narrated by managers

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To explore how managers describe leading towards person-centred care in Swedish nursing homes.

BACKGROUND

Although a growing body of research knowledge exists highlighting the importance of leadership to promote person-centred care, studies focused on nursing home managers' own descriptions of leading their staff towards providing person-centred care is lacking.

DESIGN

Descriptive interview study. COREQ guidelines have been applied.

METHODS

The study consisted of semi-structured interviews with 12 nursing home managers within 11 highly person-centred nursing homes purposively selected from a nationwide survey of nursing homes in Sweden. Data collection was performed in April 2017, and the data were analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS

Leading towards person-centred care involved a main category; embodying person-centred being and doing, with four related categories: operationalising person-centred objectives; promoting a person-centred atmosphere; maximising person-centred team potential; and optimising person-centred support structures.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings revealed that leading towards person-centred care was described as having a personal understanding of the PCC concept and how to translate it into practice, and maximising the potential of and providing support to care staff, within a trustful and innovative work place. The findings also describe how managers co-ordinate several aspects of care simultaneously, such as facilitating, evaluating and refining the translation of person-centred philosophy into synchronised care actions.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The findings can be used to inspire nursing home leaders' practices and may serve as a framework for implementing person-centred care within facilities. A reasonable implication of these findings is that if organisations are committed to person-centred care provision, care may need to be organised in a way that enables managers to be present on the units, to enact these strategies and lead person-centred care.

Resident and staff perspectives of person-centered climate in nursing homes: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Person-centered care is widely recognized as a gold standard and is based on a supportive psychosocial climate for both residents and staff in nursing homes. Residents and staff may have different perspectives as to whether the climate in which they interact is person-centered, perhaps due to their different expectations of the nursing home environment and the provision of care services. The aim of this study was to explore and compare resident and staff perspectives of person-centered climate in aged care nursing homes.

METHODS

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study using a cluster random sampling method. The study collected data in 2016 from residents (n = 251) and nursing staff (n = 249) in 23 nursing homes using a Person-centered Climate Questionnaire-Patient version and Person-centered Climate-Staff version. T-tests for independent-samples were used to compare scores ranked by nursing staff and residents.

RESULTS

The mean scores of 'A climate of safety' subscale and 'A climate of everydayness' subscale rated by residents were significantly lower than those rated by nursing staff. The mean scores of 'A climate of hospitality' rated by residents were very low among the three subscales, an indicator of the need to improve a more home-like environment for residents. Residents in larger size nursing homes showed a higher score of person-centered climate compared with their counterparts in small size nursing homes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reveals that the perspectives and perceptions of person-centered climate differ between residents and nursing staff. Therefore, both resident and staff perspectives should be taken into account in attempting to improve person-centered climate for better care outcomes.

The meaning of working in a person-centred way in nursing homes: a phenomenological-hermeneutical study

Background

The present study aims to illuminate the meaning of working in a person-centred way as experienced by staff in nursing homes. Insights into what working in a person-centred way mean for nursing home staff may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of what gives staff satisfaction in their work and support further development of person-centred care approach in nursing homes.

Methods

Interviews with 29 health care personnel who had participated in a one-year intervention focusing on person-centred care and thriving in three nursing homes in Australia, Norway and Sweden were performed, and a phenomenological-hermeneutical method was used to explore staffs’ lived experiences of working in a person-centred way in nursing homes.

Results

For nursing home staff, working in a person-centred way meant that they were able to meet individual resident’s needs and expressed preferences in close family-like relationships, understanding the residents’ rhythms and preferences as the basis of the daily work plans and being able to do ‘the little extra’ for residents. Also, working in a person-centred way meant meeting shared goals by working towards a collective practice in collaborative teams. As a whole, the staffs’ lived experiences of working in a person-centred way in nursing homes was interpreted to mean thriving at work as a psychological state in which individuals experience both a sense of vitality and learning.

Conclusions

Working in a person-centred way means staff thriving at work in nursing homes. The results further indicate that delivering care by only focusing on routines and practical tasks and not on residents’ preferences and well-being would inhibit thriving among nursing staff, leading to the potential for dissatisfaction with work.

Embracing Cultural Diversity: Meaningful Engagement for Older Adults With Advanced Dementia in a Residential Care Setting

Providing person-centered care (PCC) that focuses on meaningful engagement in residential care settings for older adults with moderate to advanced dementia is an internationally recognized challenge. In this study, we aimed to identify best-practice scenarios for supporting older adults with moderate to advanced dementia from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who lived in care facilities. A mixed-methods study with a concurrent triangulation strategy was adopted. Data collection occurred with care partners by means of a preworkshop questionnaire, an appreciative-inquiry workshop, and an adapted Delphi technique. The findings indicate that care partners valued the care facilities' residents' needs for doing, being, and belonging. Collaborative data generation reflected the setting-specific PCC practices. Leadership team members agreed that enabling inclusion and celebrating cultural diversity were important but that cultural humility needed to be promoted.

Supportive Supervision and Staff Intent to Turn Over in Long-Term Care Homes

Background and Objectives

To examine the association between supervisory support and intent to turn over among personal support workers (PSWs) employed in long-term care (LTC) homes in Ontario, Canada, by assessing whether the association is mediated by job satisfaction and the potential confounding effect of happiness.

Research Design and Methods

Cross-sectional survey data of 5,645 PSWs working within 398 LTC homes in Ontario, Canada, were obtained and analysed through a series of multilevel regression models.

Results

Overall, analyses support the assertion that the effect of supervisory support on intent to turn over is partially mediated by job satisfaction. However, happiness may act as an effect modifier rather than as a confounder.

Discussion and Implications

These results reinforce the importance of supportive supervision for PSWs working in LTC homes and highlight the multifaceted role of nurses in LTC, who traditionally provide the majority of PSW supervision. Nurses must be equipped with competencies and skills that reflect the complex organisational environments in which they work. However, these results must also be interpreted in context with the limitations of cross-sectional data; future research should incorporate prospective data collection and clarify the potential role of happiness.

Workplace relationships impact self-rated health: A survey of Swedish municipal health care employees

BACKGROUND

The impact of positive social relationships on the health of municipal employees in the elder care sector in Sweden needs further examination.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the association between health and relationships among elderly care employees using a salutogenic perspective.

METHOD

Survey of all employees (n = 997) in special housing, home care and Disabled Support and Services in a Swedish municipality. The questionnaire, which had a salutogenic perspective, included information on self-rated health from the previously validated SHIS (Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale), psychosocial work environment and experiences, social climate, and health-promoting workplace relationships.

RESULTS

The response rate was 69% . Results of a multivariable linear regression model showed four significant predictors of health: general work experiences, colleague belongingness and positive relationships with managers and care recipients. In another model, colleague belongingness was significantly related to satisfaction with care recipients, work, length of employment as well as general work experiences and relationships with managers.

CONCLUSION

Strengthening of positive work relationships, not only between workmates but also with managers and care recipients, seems to be an essential area for employee health promotion. Colleague belongingness may be deepened by development of a positive work climate, including satisfactory work experiences, positive manager relationships and a stable work force.

The effects of emotional labor and competency on job satisfaction in nurses of China: A nationwide cross-sectional survey

Objectives

This study aimed to explore the status of job satisfaction, emotional labour, core competencies and job stress and the associations of emotional labour and core competencies with the job satisfaction of nurses in China.

Methods

Data were collected by using a self-designed general information questionnaire, a job satisfaction questionnaire (McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Scale), a nurse emotional labour questionnaire, the Competency Inventory for Registered Nurses questionnaire, and a nurse job stressor questionnaire. A total of 13,448 nurses from 92 hospitals across mainland of China were surveyed, and 11,337 respondents (84.3% response rate) completed the questionnaires.

Results

The survey results indicated that Chinese nurses had average job satisfaction (24.77 ± 5.23), moderate job stress (86.84 ± 21.12), moderate to high emotional labour experiences (55.08 ± 9.63) and high competency (195.77 ± 37.61). Multiple linear regression indicated that surface acting was negatively correlated with job satisfaction (P < 0.01), while deep acting (P < 0.01) and nurses’ core competence (P < 0.01) were positively associated with job satisfaction. Besides, The results also indicated job stress, geographical distribution, hospital category, gender, work shift, only children, parenting status, monthly salary, nursing experience, professional title, hospital area were the influencing factors of job satisfaction (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The improvement of the emotional labour and competency of nurses may help enhance their job satisfaction.

Resources for work-related well-being: A qualitative study about healthcare employees' experiences of relationships at work

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To explore municipal healthcare employees' experiences of relationships with care recipients and colleagues. The specific research questions were when do the relationships enhance well-being, and what prerequisites are needed for such relationships to occur?

BACKGROUND

Employees in health and social care for older people often depict their work in negative terms, and they often take a high number of sick leaves. Despite the heavy workload, other employees express well-being at work and highlight social relationships as one reason for this. However, a greater understanding of how these relationships can act as resources for workplace well-being is needed.

DESIGN

The design of the study was qualitative and exploratory.

METHODS

Qualitative interview studies were conducted with 23 healthcare employees in municipal health care. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

Two themes were identified as resources for promoting relationships between employees and care recipients or colleagues: (a) Being personal-a close interpersonal relationship to a care recipient-and (b) Colleague belongingness-a sense of togetherness within the working group. Spending quality time together, providing long-term care and providing additional care were prerequisites for a close interpersonal relationship with care recipients. Trust, mutual responsibility and cooperation were prerequisites for a sense of togetherness within the working group.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provide an empirical base to raise awareness of relationships with care recipients and colleagues as health aspects. Relationships among employees in health care are vital resources that must be considered to create sustainable workplaces and consequently improve the quality of care.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The results of this study advocate health promotion efforts based on interpersonal relationships at the workplace. Dialogues in the working groups, based on the employees' experiences of positive daily situations, may be a promoting method for the work-related well-being of the employees.

Job strain: a cross-sectional survey of dementia care specialists and other staff in Swedish home care services

Introduction

An increasing number of older persons worldwide live at home with various functional limitations such as dementia. So, home care staff meet older persons with extensive, complex needs. The staff’s well-being is crucial because it can affect the quality of their work, although literature on job strain among home care staff is limited.

Aim

To describe perceived job strain among home care staff and to examine correlations between job strain, personal factors, and organizational factors.

Methods

The study applied a cross-sectional survey design. Participants were dementia care specialists who work in home care (n=34) and other home care staff who are not specialized in dementia care (n=35). The Strain in Dementia Care Scale (SDCS) and Creative Climate Questionnaire instruments and demographic variables were used. Descriptive and inferential statistics (including regression modeling) were applied. The regional ethical review board approved the study.

Results

Home care staff perceived job strain – particularly because they could not provide what they perceived to be necessary care. Dementia care specialists ranked job strain higher (m=5.71) than other staff members (m=4.71; p=0.04). Job strain (for total score and for all five SDCS factors) correlated with being a dementia care specialist. Correlations also occurred between job strain for SDCS factor 2 (difficulties understanding and interpreting) and not having Swedish as first language and SDCS factor 5 (lack of recognition) and stagnated organizational climate.

Conclusion

The study indicates that home care staff and particularly dementia care specialists perceived high job strain. Future studies are needed to confirm or reject findings from this study.

Comparison of nurses and general caregivers' knowledge, attitude, and practice on medication administration process and their distress level in long-term care facilities across Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor of Malaysia

AIM

Comparing nurses and general caregivers' knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) on medication administration process in long-term care (LTC) setting and an assessment of their stress, anxiety, and depression (SAD) level.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among nurses and general caregivers working in LTC using a validated questionnaire. Consisting of demographic characteristics (Section 1); 40 questions on KAP (Section 2); and assessment of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) (Section 3).

RESULTS

155 formally paid staffs in 26 LTC facilities were recruited. Nurses scored significantly higher in the knowledge section compared to caregivers (12.4 ± 1.7 vs. 4.5 ± 3.8; P < 0.001); better attitude (41.5 ± 4.8 vs. 30.8 ± 7.3; P < 0.001); and better practice (65.2 ± 8.5 vs. 40.3 ± 10.9; P < 0.001), respectively. SAD scores reveal that caregivers had significantly higher level of stress, anxiety, and depression compared to the nurses.

DISCUSSION

General caregivers exhibit poorer knowledge on aspects pertaining to posology, appropriate methods of drug administration, and side effects of common drugs used by the elderly. Compared to nurses, the general caregivers also reported poorer medication administration practices; including not checking labels and expiry dates prior to administration, and not providing basic information about medication therapy to the residents. However, both nurses and general caregivers reported positive attitudes in their role as caregivers. They take pride and satisfaction in their occupation providing support to the elderly.

CONCLUSION

General caregivers demonstrated lesser knowledge, poorer attitude, and practices towards medication administration processes, in addition to higher SAD score in LTC facilities.

Individual and organizational predictors of health care aide job satisfaction in long term care

Background

Unregulated health care aides provide the majority of direct health care to residents in long term care homes. Lower job satisfaction as reported by care aides is associated with increased turnover of staff. Turnover leads to inferior job performance and negatively impacts quality of care for residents. This study aimed to determine the individual and organizational variables associated with job satisfaction in care aides.

Methods

We surveyed a sample of 1224 care aides from 30 long term care homes in three Western Canadian provinces. The care aides reported their job satisfaction and their perception of the work environment. We used a hierarchical, mixed-effects ordered logistic regression to model the relative odds of care aide job satisfaction for individual, care unit, and facility factors.

Results

Care aide exhaustion, professional efficacy, and cynicism were associated with job satisfaction. Factors in the organizational context that are associated with increased care aide job satisfaction include: leadership, culture, social capital, organizational slack—staff, organizational slack—space, and organizational slack—time.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that organizational factors account for a greater increase in care aide job satisfaction than do individual factors. These features of the work environment are modifiable and predict care aide job satisfaction. Efforts to improve care aide work environment and quality of care should focus on organizational context.

Factors associated with high job satisfaction among care workers in Swiss nursing homes - a cross sectional survey study

Background

While the relationship between nurses’ job satisfaction and their work in hospital environments is well known, it remains unclear, which factors are most influential in the nursing home setting. The purpose of this study was to describe job satisfaction among care workers in Swiss nursing homes and to examine its associations with work environment factors, work stressors, and health issues.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used data from a representative national sample of 162 Swiss nursing homes including 4,145 care workers from all educational levels (registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants and aides). Care worker-reported job satisfaction was measured with a single item. Explanatory variables were assessed with established scales, as e.g. the Practice Environment Scale – Nursing Work Index. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models were used to examine factors related to job satisfaction.

Results

Overall, 36.2 % of respondents reported high satisfaction with their workplace, while another 50.4 % were rather satisfied. Factors significantly associated with high job satisfaction were supportive leadership (OR = 3.76), better teamwork and resident safety climate (OR = 2.60), a resonant nursing home administrator (OR = 2.30), adequate staffing resources (OR = 1.40), fewer workplace conflicts (OR = .61), less sense of depletion after work (OR = .88), and fewer physical health problems (OR = .91).

Conclusions

The quality of nursing home leadership–at both the unit supervisor and the executive administrator level–was strongly associated with care workers’ job satisfaction. Therefore, recruitment strategies addressing specific profiles for nursing home leaders are needed, followed by ongoing leadership training. Future studies should examine the effects of interventions designed to improve nursing home leadership and work environments on outcomes both for care staff and for residents.

The Development of the strain in dementia care scale (SDCS)

BACKGROUND

Though many staff gain satisfaction from working with people with dementia in residential facilities, they also experience significant stress. This is a serious issue because this in turn can affect the quality of care. There is, however, a lack of instruments to measure staff strain in the dementia-specific residential care environment, and the aim of this study, accordingly, was to develop the "Strain in Dementia Care Scale."

METHODS

The instrument was developed in three steps. In the first step, items were derived from six focus group discussions with 35 nurses in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Sweden concerning their experience of strain. In the second step, a preliminary 64-item scale was distributed to 927 dementia care staff in Australia and Sweden, which, based on exploratory factor analysis, resulted in a 29-item scale. In the final step, the 29-item scale was distributed to a new sample of 346 staff in Sweden, and the results were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis.

RESULTS

The final scale comprised the following 27 items producing a five-factor solution: Frustrated empathy; difficulties understanding and interpreting; balancing competing needs; balancing emotional involvement; and lack of recognition.

CONCLUSIONS

The scale can be used (a) as an outcome measurement in residential care intervention studies; (b) to help residential facilities identify interventions needed to improve staff well-being, and, by extension, those they care for; and

To what extent is the work environment of staff related to person-centred care? A cross-sectional study of residential aged care

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To explore the relationship between staff characteristics, perceived work environment and person-centred care in residential aged care units.

BACKGROUND

Person-centred care is often described as the model of choice in residential aged care and in the care of persons with dementia. Few empirical studies have reported on the relationship between how staff experience different aspects of their work and person-centred care.

DESIGN

The study had a cross-sectional quantitative design.

METHODS

Staff in 151 residential aged care units in Sweden (n = 1169) completed surveys which included questions about staff characteristics, valid and reliable measures of person-centred care, satisfaction with work and care, job strain, stress of conscience and psychosocial unit climate. Statistical analyses of correlations, group differences and multiple linear regression analysis estimated with generalised estimating equation were conducted.

RESULTS

Higher levels of staff satisfaction, lower levels of job strain, lower levels of stress of conscience, higher levels of a supportive psychosocial unit climate and a higher proportion of staff with continuing education in dementia care were associated with higher levels of person-centred care. Job strain and a supportive psychosocial climate, explained most of the variation in person-centred care.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that the work environment as perceived by staff is associated with the extent to which staff perceive the care as being person-centred in residential aged care. These empirical findings support the theoretical postulation that the work environment is an important aspect of person-centred care.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Promoting a positive and supportive psychosocial climate and a work environment where staff experience balance between demands and control in their work, to enable person-centred care practice, seems to be important implications for managers and leaders in residential aged care.

Applying a palliative care approach in residential care: Effects on nurse assistants' work situation

Objectives:

The aim was to investigate the effects of an intervention that applies a palliative care approach in residential care upon nurse assistants' level of strain, job satisfaction, and view of leadership.

Method:

A quasi-experimental, pretest and posttest design was used. Study circles with workshops involving nurse assistants (n = 75) and their superiors (n = 9) focusing on emotional and existential issues in palliative care were evaluated using a questionnaire answered by the nurse assistants at baseline (November 2009), post-intervention (May 2010), and six-month follow-up (November 2010) in comparison with controls (n = 110).

Results:

Directly after the intervention, the job satisfaction of the nurse assistants decreased and they perceived the leadership more negatively than before the intervention. Six months later, strain as a result of criticism from residents and their superiors and having difficulty in balancing emotional involvement had decreased.

Significance of results:

The intervention initially seemed to decrease the well-being of the nurse assistants, which could be the result of their increased awareness of the residents' and relatives' needs, in combination with limited support. More emphasis should be placed on the role of leadership when implementing changes in practice.

Psychometric properties concerning four instruments measuring job satisfaction, strain, and stress of conscience in a residential care context

There are many instruments assessing the wellbeing of staff, but far from all have been psychometrically investigated. When evaluating supportive interventions directed toward nurse assistants in residential care, valid and reliable instruments are needed in order to detect possible changes. The aim of the study was to investigate validity in terms of data quality, construct validity, convergent and divergent validity and reliability in terms of the internal consistency and stability of the Job Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Psychosocial Aspects of Job Satisfaction, the Strain in Dementia Care Scale (SDCS), and the Stress of Conscience Questionnaire (SCQ) in a residential care context. The psychometric properties of the instruments were investigated in terms of data quality, construct validity, convergent and divergent validity and reliability, including test-retest reliability, in a residential care context with a sample consisting of nurse assistants (n=114). The four instruments responded with different psychometric-related problems such as internal missing data, floor and ceiling effects, problems with construct validity and low test-retest reliability, especially when assessed on the item level. These problems were however reduced or disappeared completely when assessed for total and factor scores. From a psychometric perspective, the SDCS seemed to stand out as the best instrument. However, it should be modified in order to reduce floor effects on item level and thereby gain sensitivity. The Job Satisfaction Questionnaire seemed to have problems both with the construct validity and test-retest reliability. The final choice of instrument must, however, be made dependent on what one intends to measure.