The Hidden Script of Work-Related Burdens in Home Care – A Cross Over Mixed Analysis of Audio Diaries

Abstract

The lived experiences of work-related burdens in the daily working routines of home care workers are insufficiently investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the types, frequencies, and distributions of work-related burdens and to explore their co-occurrence. Qualitative data was collected via audio diaries and analyzed applying a crossover mixed analysis using content as well as network analysis. In all, 23 home care workers (mean age = 46.70 ± 10.40; 91.30% female) produced 242 diary entries. Participants reported work-related burdens 580 times with 77 different types, predominately in relation to work organization (50.5%). Network analysis reveals a complex picture, which shows the strong relation between time pressure and travel between homes, and identifies additional tasks as the central node in the network of burdens. A holistic understanding of setting-specific burdens provides an important starting point for measures of workplace health promotion.

Exploring a career pathway for home support workers in Ireland: a systematic scoping review of the international evidence

“…Personal safety and wellbeing: The physical and emotional nature of the work, lack of safety and support systems, as well as individual client and worker characteristics, contribute to work-related burden in home support work impacting job satisfaction and retention ( 204 – 211 ). Client behaviours in the home, such as occupational tobacco smoke exposure, can create significant health challenges for HSWs, requiring standard terms and agreements to be put in place with clients and families to safeguard employees ( 212 ).…”

How to Address the Health of Home Care Workers: A Systematic Review of the Last Two Decades

“…Physical parameters dominate the endpoints of included studies, indicating a still predominant biomedical perspective on health. Since psychosocial and mental demands characterize everyday work in home care (Grasmo et al, 2021; Ruotsalainen et al, 2020) and are reported as burdening much more frequently than physical strains (Gebhard & Wimmer, 2022), interventions must broaden their approach to a biopsychosocial perspective. A review indicated that mindfulness trainings have a positive effect on the mental health of nurses (Guillaumie et al, 2017).…”

“…Recent studies have identified a wide range of health-damaging factors associated with home care work. Home care workers experience burdens most frequently related to work organization (Gebhard & Wimmer, 2022; Sjöberg et al, 2020), including staffing challenges, too tight schedules (Mojtahedzadeh et al, 2021a; Ruotsalainen et al, 2020), and the requirement to perform additional tasks on a daily basis (Karlsson et al, 2020). These conditions result in high workloads and time pressure (Fjørtoft et al, 2020; Grasmo et al, 2021; Otto et al, 2019; Sjöberg et al, 2020).…”

“…Health affecting factors in home care do not occur in isolation but are causally related and interact with each other (Gebhard & Wimmer, 2022). For example, time pressure is caused by organizational demands (Gebhard & Wimmer, 2022), presents a health risk in itself (Ruotsalainen et al, 2020; Sjöberg et al, 2020), increases risks for other work-related demands and injuries (Baron et al, 2022; Cœugnet et al, 2016), and leads to unhealthy behavior, such as an increased consumption of sweets and insufficient hydration (Mojtahedzadeh et al, 2021a). In addition, there are determinants of worker health that are external to, but interact with, the work context, such as socioeconomic variables or leisure time health behaviors (Sterling et al, 2021).…”

Effects of workday characteristics and job demands on recovery from work among Finnish home care nurses: a multi-source cross-sectional study

“…As such, Finland is a fitting country to study how to meet care challenges that arise from aging populations. Recent studies conducted in home care have demonstrated problems among caregivers, with time pressure and stress as well as dissatisfaction and turnover intentions being prevalent (Gebhard & Wimmer 2023 ; Ruotsalainen et al 2020 ). Furthermore, demands for high efficiency, and insufficient number of nurses can result in increasingly intense workdays, which might lead to strain, poor recovery, and sickness absences.…”