A comparative study of organisational characteristics, work characteristics and nurses’ psychological work reactions in a hospital and nursing home setting

“…This especially mental or psychosocial workload - caused by the increase in care intensive clients (HC) and residents (GNH) as well as by the increasingly older nursing staff in the facilities - can lead in turn to growing psychosocial job stress for the nursing staff [8-11]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial work load and stress in the geriatric care

Nübling¹,

Vomstein²,

Schmidt³

et al. 2010

BMC Public Health

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BackgroundDue to the decrease in informal care by family members and the demographic development, the importance of professional geriatric care will rise considerably. Aim of this study was to investigate the psychosocial workplace situation for employees in this profession.MethodsThe German version of the COPSOQ (Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire) was used for the assessment of psychosocial factors at work. The instrument includes 22 scales and 3 single items concerning demands, control, stress, support, and strain.Results between two study groups of geriatric care were compared to each other as well as to employees in general hospital care and a general population mean (COPSOQ database).Statistical analysis included t-tests, ANOVA and multiple comparisons of means. Statistical significance (p < 0.01, two-tailed) and a difference of at least 5 points in mean values were defined as the relevant threshold.ResultsIn total 889 respondents from 36 institutions took part in the study. 412 worked in Home Care (HC), 313 in Geriatric Nursing Homes (GNH), 164 in other professions (e.g. administration).Comparison between HC and GNH showed more favourable values for the first group for the most scales, e.g. lower quantitative and emotional demands and less work-privacy conflict, better possibilities for development etc. Compared to external values from the German COPSOQ database for general hospital care (N = 1.195) and the total mean across all professions, COPSOQ-total (N = 11.168), the results are again positive for HC workers on most of the scales concerning demands and social support. The only negative finding is the very low amount of social relations at work due to the obligation to work alone most of the time. Employees in GNH rate predictability, quality of leadership and feedback higher when compared to general hospital care and show some further favourable mean values compared to the COPSOQ mean value for all professions. A disadvantage for GNH is the high rating for job insecurity.A supplementary subgroup analysis showed that the degree of negative evaluation of psychosocial factors concerning demands was related to the amount of working hours per week and the number of on-call duties.ConclusionsCompared to employees in general hospital care and the COPSOQ overall mean value across all professions, geriatric care employees and especially home care workers evaluate their psychosocial working situation more positive for most aspects. However, this seems partly due to the very high proportion of part-time workers. Critical results for the two study groups are the relatively high job insecurity in nursing homes and the lack of social relations for the HCrs.

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“…Therefore, self-related events seem to play a major role, which may weaken the “true” caring specificity of carers’ burnout. However, the importance of the organization factors must be emphasized, as shown in a Dutch study dealing with RNs and caregivers in a hospital and NH settings [26]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Much is Geriatric Caregivers Burnout Caring-Specific? Questions from a Questionnaire Survey

Cocco¹

2010

Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health

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Summary:Background and Aims:Research dealing with occupational strain and burnout in geriatric care is generally focused on the behavioral problems of the patient and/or the psychological traits or attitudes of the carers rather than on organizational functionality. This paper describes data from a survey of all geriatric professions, using the Stressful Events Questionnaire (SEQ), a tool that takes into account multiple dimensions that can affect the genesis of burnout, including the patient, the geriatric health care professional, and the health care organization. The aim of this study is to compare patterns of answers among different roles in geriatric care.Method:Patterns of SEQ answers are described for the entire sample as well as for workers experiencing burnout and for each caring profession investigated: certified nursing assistants (CNAs), registered nurses and physicians/psychologists.Results;In general, carers refer more often as stressful the facility-related events; the only exception is that CNAs working in general hospital geriatric wards refer most often as stressful the patient-related events. The self-related events area seems to have a great importance for all professions. Discussion:The specificity of gerontological burnout has to be discussed, to better define the role played by caring problems, including psychological attitudes of carers versus the role played by the institution and by the social situation of each worker. For CNAs, the interaction between educational background and the length of time spent as a CNA seems to be a critical topic.

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A comparative study of organisational characteristics, work characteristics and nurses’ psychological work reactions in a hospital and nursing home setting

Cited by 45 publications

References 35 publications

Non-direct patient care factors influencing nursing workload: a review of the literature

Non-direct patient care factors influencing nursing workload: a review of the literature

Psychosocial work load and stress in the geriatric care

How Much is Geriatric Caregivers Burnout Caring-Specific? Questions from a Questionnaire Survey

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