The Growing Need for Home Care Workers: Improving a Low-Paid, Female-Dominated Occupation and the Conditions of its Immigrant Workers

Hartmann, Heidi; Hayes, Jeffrey A.

doi:10.1093/ppar/prx017

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…A majority of the respondents had lengthy experience working within eldercare, with a median of 20 years. Most of the respondents were women (86%), which also reflects the reality of health care sector in that is a female-dominated occupation [36]. The results provide new information regarding perception of welfare technology, and the challenges and opportunities perceived in utilizing it by Swedish eldercare professionals ( Table 2).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 69%

The concept of welfare technology in Swedish municipal eldercare

Frennert

Baudin

2019

Disability and Rehabilitation

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Purpose: An ageing population presents a challenge for municipal eldercare in Sweden due to difficulties recruiting staff and there being a strained economy. A strategy involving welfare technology is presented as one such solution. An important group to carry out this strategy involves those who work with welfare technology in municipal eldercare. In this paper we describe their perception of welfare technology, and the challenges and opportunities they perceive in utilizing it. Methods: A self-administered online questionnaire was distributed to all Swedish municipalities and answered by 393 respondents. Analyses show that the respondents were representative of the different professions who work with welfare technology within municipal eldercare. Results: Welfare technology was perceived as being more reliable and safer than humans with regards to supervisions and reminders. The respondents acknowledged factors that slowed down the implementation of welfare technology in municipal eldercare organizations, such as resistance to change, lack of finances, lack of supporting evidence, lack of infrastructure, high staff turnover, difficulties with procurement and uncertainties about responsibility and laws. Conclusions: We found that the people who work with and make decisions about welfare technology in municipal eldercare organizations were generally very positive about the deployment and use of such technology, but there appear to be problems within municipal eldercare organizations to realize this vision. The lack of structured implementation processes and coherent evaluation models indicates inequality of the access to welfare technology and, as a result, even though Swedish eldercare is publicly funded, the availability of welfare technologies and their usage differ between municipalities. ä IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION The research findings show that implementing welfare technologies in municipal eldercare must include transformed working processes and long-term strategies or they may lead to conflicts of priorities or unstructured implementation processes. Structured implementation processes and coherent evaluation models are needed for equality of access and availability of welfare technologies in municipal eldercare. High staff turnover negatively affects the deployment of welfare technology and the root cause of high staff turnover needs to be addressed.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 69%

The concept of welfare technology in Swedish municipal eldercare

Frennert

Baudin

2019

Disability and Rehabilitation

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“…In Canada, as in Australia, the U.S., and U.K., there is a need to strengthen the home care system to meet the demands of the aging population, address the growing pressures on acute care, and manage the subsequent rising costs of healthcare (Canadian Home Care Association, The College of Family Physicians of Canada, & Canadian Nurses Association, ; Hartmann & Hayes, ; Landers et al, ; Morris, ; Palesy, Jakimowicz, Saunders, & Lewis, ). This scoping review explored Canadian literature published over a 13‐year span and identified 32 factors categorised under 7 domains, which were identified for their potential relevance to the optimisation of HCNs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of home care nurses in Canada: A scoping review

Ganann

Weeres

Lam

et al. 2019

Health Soc Care Community

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Nurses are among the largest providers of home care services thus optimisation of this workforce can positively influence client outcomes. This scoping review maps existing Canadian literature on factors influencing the optimisation of home care nurses (HCNs). Arskey and O'Malley's five stages for scoping literature reviews were followed. Populations of interest included Registered Nurses, Registered/Licensed Practical Nurses, Registered Nursing Assistants, Advanced Practice Nurses, Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists. Interventions included any nurse(s), organisational and system interventions focused on optimising home care nursing. Papers were included if published between January 1, 2002 up to May 15, 2015. The review included 127 papers, including 94 studies, 16 descriptive papers, 6 position papers, 4 discussion papers, 3 policy papers, 2 literature reviews and 2 other. Optimisation factors were categorised under seven domains: Continuity of Care/Care; Staffing Mix and Staffing Levels; Professional Development; Quality Practice Environments; Intra‐professional and Inter‐professional and Inter‐sectoral Collaboration; Enhancing Scope of Practice: and, Appropriate Use of Technology. Fragmentation and underfunding of the home care sector and resultant service cuts negatively impact optimisation. Given the fiscal climate, optimising the existing workforce is essential to support effective and efficient care delivery models. Many factors are inter‐related and have synergistic impacts (e.g., recruitment and retention, compensation and benefits, professional development supports, staffing mix and levels, workload management and the use of technology). Quality practice environments facilitate optimal practice by maximixing human resources and supporting workforce stability. Role clarity and leadership supports foster more effective interprofessional team functioning that leverages expertise and enhances patient outcomes. Results inform employers, policy makers and relevant associations regarding barriers and enablers that influence the optimisation of home care nursing in nursing, intra‐ and inter‐professional and inter‐organisational contexts.

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“…Employment projections in the developed world anticipate growth in the extent to which health care will be delivered in remote treatment settings and within service recipients’ homes [ 3 , 6 ]. These reports also note that many positions in this growing employment sector are modestly paid, receiving around $22,000 (U.S.) annually.…”

Section: Mobile Health Carementioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship of Safety with Burnout for Mobile Health Employees

Jackson

Bourgeault

Price

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Objective: The study examined the relationship of occupational safety with job burnout. Design: The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Setting: The setting was Nova Scotia, Canada. Participants: Mobile health employees (N = 156) completed surveys on road safety, workload, burnout and supervisor incivility. Main outcome measure: The main outcome measure was the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results: Results found that safety concerns improved the prediction of exhaustion beyond that provided by workload concerns alone. Further, confidence in safety buffered the relationship of exhaustion with cynicism such that the exhaustion/cynicism relationship was stronger for employees who had lower confidence in road safety. Conclusions: Employees’ confidence in occupational safety while addressing work responsibilities on the road has implications for their experience of job burnout.

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The Growing Need for Home Care Workers: Improving a Low-Paid, Female-Dominated Occupation and the Conditions of its Immigrant Workers

Cited by 24 publications

References 2 publications

The concept of welfare technology in Swedish municipal eldercare

The concept of welfare technology in Swedish municipal eldercare

Optimization of home care nurses in Canada: A scoping review

The Relationship of Safety with Burnout for Mobile Health Employees

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