Workers In Long-term Care Facilities Research Articles

Prevalence and potential determinants of musculoskeletal disease symptoms among care workers in long‐term care facilities in South Korea

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree and influencing factors of musculoskeletal disease symptoms among care workers in long-term care facilities in South Korea. Participants in this cross-sectional study were 265 care workers in 15 long-term care facilities. Data were collected between 1 and 27 August 2011, using the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) code H-30-2003 and analyzed using logistic regression with SPSS ver. 18.0. Of the care workers, 88.7% had pain in at least one of the six body parts. The highest prevalence of musculoskeletal disease symptoms was in the lower back and legs. Among the organizational factors, there were significant differences in neck pain by work shift and patient grade. Neck pain was more severe in the 8 h shift group than 12-24 h shift group. Care workers caring for patients who were classified in the first patient grade of long-term care insurance had 4.73 times more complaints of musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck, 9.54 times (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.37-27.02) in the hand and wrist, 4.37 times (95% CI = 1.59-12.03) in the lower back, and 2.96 times (95% CI: 1.17-7.51) in the leg and foot. To prevent and manage musculoskeletal disease symptoms, activities and the intensity of work should be arranged systematically and planned, and the improvement of organizational factors such as appropriate assignment by patients' severity is considered.

The Effects of Working Environment on Client-Oriented Tendency of Care Workers in Long-Term Care Facilities for the Elderly-Focused on Chungbuk Region-

The Effects of Working Environment on Client-Oriented Tendency of Care Workers in Long-Term Care Facilities for the Elderly-Focused on Chungbuk Region-

Lifting the ‘Violence Veil’: Examining Working Conditions in Long-term Care Facilities Using Iterative Mixed Methods

We conducted a mixed-methods study-- the focus of this article--to understand how workers in long-term care facilities experienced working conditions. We surveyed unionized care workers in Ontario (n = 917); we also surveyed workers in three Canadian provinces (n = 948) and four Scandinavian countries (n = 1,625). In post-survey focus groups, we presented respondents with survey questions and descriptive statistical findings, and asked them: "Does this reflect your experience?" Workers reported time pressures and the frequency of experiences of physical violence and unwanted sexual attention, as we explain. We discuss how iteratively mixing qualitative and quantitative methods to triangulate survey and focus group results led to expected data convergence and to unexpected data divergence that revealed a normalized culture of structural violence in long-term care facilities. We discuss how the finding of structural violence emerged and also the deeper meaning, context, and insights resulting from our combined methods.

Hand hygiene practices of health care workers in long-term care facilities

Little is known about hand hygiene practice in the long-term care setting. In this study, we observed 459 hand hygiene opportunities in 2 long-term care facilities in Hamilton, Ontario. Overall hand hygiene adherence was 14.7%, with a mean handwashing time of 15.9 seconds. Adherence varied by activity performed and the presence or absence of a sink.

Patient-Centered Communication Survey of Nursing Homes and Rehabilitation Centers

A surge of research has recently been published on the importance ofpatient-centered communication (P-CC). However, patients with communication disorders are rarely considered in these discussions. Health care workers in long-term care facilities (L-TCFs) and rehabilitation centers were surveyed in order to: (1) assess the level of P-CC used with people with communication disorders versus those without communication disorders; (2) identify the tools and strategies currently used by health care providers in long-term care facilities and rehabilitation centers to enhance P-CC with people with communication disorders; (3) assess the perceived level of efectiveness of these tools and strategies; and (4) identify the tools desired by health care providers in these settings. The results regarding P-CC levels were fairly consistent across settings. Health care providers reported that they achieve slightly higher P-CC with patients without communication disorders than with those with communication disorders. Respondents in both settings used similar tools and strategies, but the reported level of effectiveness varied greatly between the two settings, with rehabilitation centers indicating better success than L-TCFs. Interestingly, rehabilitation center respondents were more interested in obtaining additional tools than were L-TCF respondents, but the types of tools desired were similar.

Social Work Practice in Long-Term Care Facilities:

Although few would deny the relevance of social workers in long-term care facilities, there remains a dearth of professional social workers in such facilities. Generally an untrained and uneducated social work designee with multiple jobs is the service provider, with a professional social worker as consultant. This paper explores the current predominant social service delivery model and the implications of this model to the actual attainment of the stated goals of social work in long-term care.