"I Get Along With Most of Them": Direct Care Workers' Relationships With Residents' Families in Assisted Living

Abstract

Findings suggest the need to create environments -- through policy and practice -- where both parties are empathetic of one another and view themselves as partners. Doing so would have positive outcomes for care workers, family members, and residents.

Staff–Family Relationships in Residential Aged Care Facilities

“…Austin et al (2009) refer to this as a "chasm" (p. 373) and suggest that it can be caused by different and sometimes opposite opinions between staff and families as to what care is in the resident's best interests. To avoid this, several authors recommend a reciprocal approach to care giving, where families and staff are partners rather than competitors (Dijkstra, 2007;Kemp, Ball, Perkins, Hollingsworth, & Lepore, 2009;Legault & Ducharme, 2009;Majerovitz, Mollott, & Rudder, 2009). Family involvement can help staff provide the best level of care (Kemp, et al, 2009), and a collaborative attitude from staff keeps family members up-to-date as to the health and wellbeing of their relative when they are not there (Legault & Ducharme, 2009).…”

Factors Explaining the Job Satisfaction of Home Care Workers Who Left Their Older Care Recipients in Israel

“…Studies (Kemper et al, 2008;Olsson & Ingvad, 2001) that examined the perspective of care workers on what was important for them found that more pay, better work relationships, being appreciated, being listened to, and being treated with respect by both their care recipients and organizations increased their job satisfaction. Likewise, conflicts with care recipients' families as well as with the care recipients themselves were significant predictors of burnout and job dissatisfaction (Fleming & Taylor, 2007;Fujiwara, Tsukishima, Tsutsumi, Kawakami, & Kishi, 2003;Kemp, Ball, Perkins, Hollingsworth, & Lepore, 2009). Banijamali, Hagopian, and Jacoby (2012) found that 6% of those who voluntarily left their care recipients reported that one of the main reasons for that was issues with the patient or the patient's family.…”

Dementia and Northern caregiving.

“…Interestingly, this theme emerged through a discussion regarding the staffing at the hospital and the fact that many of the caregivers have been working and residing in the area for over twenty years and thus know most community members. Kemp et al (2009) find positive relationships between formal caregiver and care recipient families can enhance the service provision. There is limited research regarding the impact of relationships between formal caregivers and care recipients, although formal caregiver participants emphasize the benefits of relationships within the community.…”

“…Specifically caregivers feel different pressures related to their situation, experience different issues related to their caregiving role, and have different relationships with the care receiver. Kemp, Ball, Perkins, Hollingsworth, and Lepore (2009) refer to the relationship between the caregiver and the care receiver as the catalyst for either a positive or negative experience.…”

“…The complexity of dementia caregiving may involve different interventions (e.g., medication, community services, and housing), professional involvement (e.g., nurse, social worker, and geriatric specialist), and non professional involvement (e.g., spouse, family member, and neighbour) (Harris, 2010;Kemp et al, 2009 Providing care for an individual living with dementia involves attempts to preserve independence and dignity, maintain cognitive abilities and delay cognitive loss, provide individualized care, and assist with the quality of life of the individual (Harris, 2010). The progression associated with a dementia-related disease can affect family dynamics, family structure, and relationships depending on the type of dementia and the level of care required by the individual (Prince, Acosta, Albanese, Arizaga, Ferri, Guerra, et al, 2008).…”