Qualitative Insights into the Working Conditions of Personal Support Workers in Long-Term Care in the Context of a Person-Centered Communication Training Intervention.

Abstract

The current study reports on qualitative insights into the working conditions of personal support workers (PSWs) in long-term care (LTC) homes within the context of a person-centered communication training intervention. PSWs (N = 39) employed at one of four LTC homes in southwestern Ontario, Canada, participated in a series of 1-hour focus groups before, during, and after a 2-week person-centered communication training program for formal caregivers of persons living with dementia (PLWD). Textual data from focus group conversations were coded and organized into themes following an interpretive description research design. Three overarching themes emerged related to the working conditions of PSWs in LTC: (1) dementia care is complex, (2) there is a lack of trained staff to provide person-centered dementia care, and (3) residents' families are not appropriately situated in residents' care circles. Four overarching themes emerged related to the impact of those working conditions: (a) PSW occupational burnout, (b) poor resident care, (c) frustrated and disengaged families, and (d) PSW job attrition. These findings offer LTC employers and administrators opportunities to ameliorate working conditions to better support person-centered dementia care. [Research in Gerontological Nursing, 14(5), 245-253.].