Changes in our society increasingly place the old and impaired in institutions, where they spend their last remaining days. The authors explore the burden of being confronted with death and dying on nursing home staff using mixed methodology. Findings from open-ended interviews with 17 representatives of different occupational groups inform the design of a questionnaire used to conduct a survey in 52 nursing homes of the Federal Province of Carinthia (Austria). In total, 894 questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 49%. Results indicate that it is more difficult to talk about death with family members of terminally ill residents than with the dying themselves. The need for end-of-life training is not only essential for nursing staff but is also needed for nonnursing staff, who are found to be substantially strained by aspects of death and dying in their workplace.

An imbalance between energy input and energy needs contributes to the growing incidence of overweight children. Pre-schoolers normally like to move, but even at this young age, they are already affected by a lack of physical activity and a high amount of screen time. Media consumption contributes to unhealthy diets and extends the length of time spent sitting. Longer periods of sitting are, independent of the level of activity, seen as a risk factor for the development of obesity. In the present study, 160 pre-schoolers and their parents (128 mothers, 121 fathers) were examined. The results show deviations from actual recommendations regarding physical activity, time spent sitting, dietary intake, and media consumption. Increased screen time was associated with a higher weight status among pre-school-aged children. To provide a healthy upbringing, prevention and intervention measures should be implemented on a behavioral and relational level.

Work-related stress has been identified as a relevant problem leading to negative effects on health and quality of life. Using data from 844 nurses, latent profile analyses (LPA) were applied to identify distinct patterns of work stress. Several sociodemographic variables, including nurses' working and living conditions, as well as nurses' reactions to workload, were considered to predict respondents' profile membership. LPA revealed three distinct profiles that can be distinguished by a low, moderate, and higher stress level. Being financially secure is positively related to the low stress profile, whereas working in an urban area and having low job satisfaction increases the chance of belonging to the higher stress profile. Our results can be used as a basis to develop interventions to create a healthy nursing home environment by supporting the balance between family and work, providing access to job resources and optimizing recovery opportunities.

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The daily routine of nurses in long term care units is characterized by a variety of physical and psychological burdens. This study is dedicated to work load, burnout, health and coping of this target group. Registered nurses were surveyed in two federal states of Austria, namely in Vienna (n = 78) and Carinthia (n = 59). The individuals of the, on average, older Viennese sample who often feel destined for this occupation face younger colleagues from rural areas whose motivations are predominantly pro-social and economic. The results show an alarming proportion of emotional exhaustion (23%) and aversion to residents (17%). The participants felt particularly burdened by work conditions and the old people they are caring for. Carinthian nurses estimated their state of health to be better than that of their Viennese colleagues. The Viennese sample was found to be significantly more discontent than the Carinthian one. The study underlines the high risk of burnout for nurses in long term care units.