Building resilience of staff in care homes: preliminary findings of an exploratory study

Abstract

Background/Aims Careers in the care home sector have seen innumerable challenges, along with sustaining and growing resilience in the workforce. The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of resilience for care home staff working in one health board area in Scotland. Methods In this exploratory study, five care homes with scores of 6 (1 being the lowest quality, 6 being excellent) within any category available from the Care Inspectorate reports over the previous 12 months were selected and staff members were invited to participate in interviews. Results A total of four staff members from four care homes agreed to participate. Through thematic analysis, three main themes were identified: emotional factors enhancing resilience in staff within care homes; the value of community and the care home family; and encouragement and meaningful interactions from and with others. Conclusions Laughter and happiness for both staff and residents were highlighted and resilience was seen not only at an individual level, but was also attributed to effective team working.