BackgroundOne of the main goals of Human Resource Management (HRM) is to increase the performance of organizations. However, few studies have explicitly addressed the multidimensional character of performance and linked HR practices to various outcome dimensions. This study therefore adds to the literature by relating HR practices to three outcome dimensions: financial, organizational and employee (HR) outcomes. Furthermore, we will analyze how HR practices influence these outcome dimensions, focusing on the mediating role of job satisfaction.MethodsThis study uses a unique dataset, based on the ‘ActiZ Benchmark in Healthcare’, a benchmark study conducted in Dutch home care, nursing care and care homes. Data from autumn 2010 to autumn 2011 were analyzed. In total, 162 organizations participated during this period (approximately 35% of all Dutch care organizations). Employee data were collected using a questionnaire (61,061 individuals, response rate 42%). Clients were surveyed using the Client Quality Index for long-term care, via stratified sampling. Financial outcomes were collected using annual reports. SEM analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses.ResultsIt was found that HR practices are - directly or indirectly - linked to all three outcomes. The use of HR practices is related to improved financial outcomes (measure: net margin), organizational outcomes (measure: client satisfaction) and HR outcomes (measure: sickness absence). The impact of HR practices on HR outcomes and organizational outcomes proved substantially larger than their impact on financial outcomes. Furthermore, with respect to HR and organizational outcomes, the hypotheses concerning the full mediating effect of job satisfaction are confirmed. This is in line with the view that employee attitudes are an important element in the ‘black box’ between HRM and performance.ConclusionThe results underscore the importance of HRM in the health care sector, especially for HR and organizational outcomes. Further analyses of HRM in the health care sector will prove to be a productive endeavor for both scholars and HR managers.

Pets, Self-reported health, Mental health, Physical exercise, Loneliness, Health services use,

This study is conducted in order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between physical activity and agitated behavior among older people with dementia, and physical activity and characteristics of long-term care wards. Data were collected among people with dementia living in long-term care facilities (N = 76) by conducting observations at the wards and distributing questionnaires among professional caregivers. The results show that participants are largely inactive (82.8%) and a significant relation was found between the degree of physical activity and characteristics of the ward such as “taking sufficient time,” which relates to the time caregivers take when interacting with residents. This study supports the existing knowledge about the degree of physical activity among people with dementia in long-term care and adds information about the potential influence of organizational factors that could be valuable for daily practice.

Background Social resources have the potential to relieve the pressure on long‐term care facilities due to population ageing and staff shortages. This is because social networks can constitute the link between residents, staff members of LTC facilities and members of the local community. In this paper we describe these social networks and the relationships of which they consist in two LTC facilities that provide dementia care in the Netherlands, thereby illustrating the social capital of both facilities. Methods Staff members of the dementia ward in two LTC facilities, family members of residents and inhabitants of the neighbourhoods surrounding the LTC facilities were asked to complete questionnaires. Results There are direct and indirect relationships between nursing staff, family members of residents and inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Staff know residents both directly, and indirectly through connections with other persons in the community. There is regular contact between staff members and family members of residents during visits of family members; one third of nursing staff also talk to family members outside the LTC facility. Furthermore, staff members often live close to the facility and are therefore connected to inhabitants of the neighbourhood. About half of the neighbourhood inhabitants visited the LTC facility during the past 12 months for various reasons. More than half of the neighbourhood inhabitants know persons that work in the LTC facility, one in five knows a staff member working on the dementia ward. In total, 8% of the neighbourhood inhabitants in our study worked as a volunteer in the LTC facilities. Conclusion The network of the LTC facilities’ staff, residents with dementia, and local community consists of many direct and indirect relationships. Although it is difficult for residents with dementia to uphold their social networks, there are numerous ties that demonstrate the pre‐existing social relationships of persons with dementia in the community that can be employed to provide person‐centred care. The embeddedness of LTC facilities can also be considered as a resource in finding and retaining personnel and volunteers, as most of the staff live in the neighbourhood and volunteers are often in close proximity.