Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of the study is to describe the work pattern of personal care workers (PCWs) in nursing homes. This knowledge is important for staff performance appraisal, task allocation and scheduling. It will also support funding allocation based on activities.MethodsA time-motion study was conducted in 2010 at two Australian nursing homes. The observation at Site 1 was between the hours of 7:00 and 14:00 or 15:00 for 14 days. One PCW was observed on each day. The observation at Site 2 was from 10:00 to 17:00 for 16 days. One PCW working on a morning shift and another one working on an afternoon shift were observed on each day. Fifty-eight work activities done by PCWs were grouped into eight categories. Activity time, frequency, duration and the switch between two consecutive activities were used as measurements to describe the work pattern.ResultsPersonal care workers spent about 70.0% of their time on four types of activities consistently at both sites: direct care (30.7%), indirect care (17.6%), infection control (6.4%) and staff break (15.2%). Oral communication was the most frequently observed activity. It could occur independently or concurrently with other activities. At Site 2, PCWs spent significantly more time than their counterparts at Site 1 on oral communication (Site 1: 47.3% vs. Site 2: 63.5%, P = 0.003), transit (Site 1: 3.4% vs. Site 2: 5.5%, P < 0.001) and others (Site 1: 0.5% vs. Site 2: 1.8%, P < 0.001). They spent less time on documentation (Site 1: 4.1% vs. Site 2: 2.3%, P < 0.001). More than two-thirds of the observed activities had a very short duration (1 minute or less). Personal care workers frequently switched within or between oral communication, direct and indirect care activities.ConclusionsAt both nursing homes, direct care, indirect care, infection control and staff break occupied the major part of a PCW’s work, however oral communication was the most time consuming activity. Personal care workers frequently switched between activities, suggesting that looking after the elderly in nursing homes is a busy and demanding job.
Highlights
The aim of the study is to describe the work pattern of personal care workers (PCWs) in nursing homes
They are the major providers of personal care to residents, especially the activities of daily living (ADL) which are one of the important care needs supported by the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI)
This study provides a comprehensive overview of what the direct care workers do and how they spend their working time, it was confined to a single residential aged care facilities (RACFs) and because it is a work sampling study, the duration of each activity or the switches which occur between activities could not be determined
Summary
The aim of the study is to describe the work pattern of personal care workers (PCWs) in nursing homes This knowledge is important for staff performance appraisal, task allocation and scheduling. The situation is worsened by a chronic shortage of direct care workers, on whom these people rely to live [2] All of this represents a big challenge to the delivery of aged care services in RACFs. An important strategy to address this challenge is to effectively design work activities to optimally deliver. Personal care workers have a minimum qualification of Certificate III in Aged Care awarded by the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college system in Australia They are the major providers of personal care to residents, especially the activities of daily living (ADL) which are one of the important care needs supported by the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI)
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