Supporting home health aides through a client's death: The role of supervisors and coworkers

Gleason, Hayley; Boerner, Kathrin; Barooah, Adrita

doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2016.04.001

Cited by 21 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Providing home care services implies that they work alone, 14 and that home care staff must rely extensively on their own capacity and competence. 15 , 26 Unmet care needs (as reported in the present study) appeared to be a consistent predictor of depression for home care workers in the US. 34 Based on the worldwide trend that older persons with functional limitations live at home, home care staff will be caring for persons who have extensive, complex health care needs such as mental and behavioral health conditions and palliative care.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“… 34 Based on the worldwide trend that older persons with functional limitations live at home, home care staff will be caring for persons who have extensive, complex health care needs such as mental and behavioral health conditions and palliative care. 25 , 26 This change resulted in new, increased demands on home care staff. 12 Previous studies revealed that home care staff could be under physical and mental pressure in varying ways (e.g., musculoskeletal injury 35 and violence).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So, work situations for home care staff dramatically changed in recent years. 25 , 26 But the literature on how home care staff perceive job strain when supporting older persons is limited. Understanding job strain is crucial because residential care research revealed that staff members’ well-being affects care quality for residents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Sandberg¹,

Borell²,

Edvardsson³

et al. 2018

JMDH

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IntroductionAn 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.AimTo describe perceived job strain among home care staff and to examine correlations between job strain, personal factors, and organizational factors.MethodsThe 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.ResultsHome 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.ConclusionThe 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.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Sandberg¹,

Borell²,

Edvardsson³

et al. 2018

JMDH

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“…It is possible that those who experienced burnout symptoms more frequently were simply more likely to reach out to their coworkers for support. However, an alternative or complementary explanation may be that the benefits of support depend on what the support entails and whether it is perceived as helpful (35, 36). But even the perception of helpfulness may not be a sufficient indicator for how effective available support is with regard to certain employment outcomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burnout After Patient Death: Challenges for Direct Care Workers

Boerner

Gleason

Jopp

2017

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

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Context Direct care workers in long-term care can develop close relationships with their patients and subsequently experience significant grief after patient death (Boerner et al., 2015). Consequences of this experience for employment outcomes have received little attention. Objectives To (1) investigate staff, institutional, patient, and grief factors as predictors of burnout dimensions among direct care workers who had experienced recent patient death, (2) determine which specific aspects of these factors are of particular importance, and (3) establish grief as an independent predictor of burnout dimensions. Methods Participants were 140 certified nursing assistants and 80 homecare workers having recently experienced patient death. Data collection involved comprehensive semi-structured in-person interviews. Standardized assessments and structured questions addressed staff, patient, and institutional characteristics, grief symptoms and grief avoidance, as well as burnout dimensions (depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and personal accomplishment). Results Hierarchical regressions revealed that grief factors accounted for unique variance in depersonalization, over and above staff, patient, and institutional factors. Supervisor support and caregiving benefits were consistently associated with higher levels on burnout dimensions. In contrast, coworker support was associated with a higher likelihood of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion. Conclusion Findings suggest that grief over patient death plays an overlooked role in direct care worker burnout. High supervisor support and caregiving benefits may have protective effects with respect to burnout, whereas high coworker support may constitute a reflection of burnout.

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“…Previous research studies have shown that home care staff work alone, 11 requiring them to rely on their own competence. 21,38 Furthermore, home care staff has reported that they experience pressure and violence 21,39 which was significantly associated with experiencing stress, depression, sleep problems and burnout. 21 Secondly, the previous study 18 included all staff working at the nursing home, such as the nurse aides and health professionals (registered nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists) in the intervention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Dementia Care Education Targeting Job Strain and Organizational Climate Among Dementia Care Specialists in Swedish Home Care Services</p>

Fallahpour

Borell

Sandberg

et al. 2020

JMDH

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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 postintervention. 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.

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Supporting home health aides through a client's death: The role of supervisors and coworkers

Cited by 21 publications

References 24 publications

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

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

Burnout After Patient Death: Challenges for Direct Care Workers

<p>Dementia Care Education Targeting Job Strain and Organizational Climate Among Dementia Care Specialists in Swedish Home Care Services</p>

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