scholarly journals Staffing policy in aged care must look beyond the numbers

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 829
Author(s):  
Sarah Wise
Keyword(s):  
Aged Care ◽  
Career Pathways ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Personal Care ◽  
Skill Mix ◽  
Staffing Levels ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Complex Population ◽  
Care System

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted an aged care system struggling to meet the needs of vulnerable Australians. Staffing levels and skill mix in aged care have declined, whereas the health and social needs of an older and more clinically complex population have risen. Increasing staff and improving personal care workers’ skills and education are essential steps to quality aged care in Australia, but it will not be possible without funding models that foster secure employment, development opportunities and long-term career pathways.

scholarly journals Second Job Holding Among Direct Care Workers and Nurses: Implications for COVID-19 Transmission in Long-Term Care

2020 ◽  
pp. 107755872097412
Author(s):  
Reagan A. Baughman ◽  
Bryce Stanley ◽  
Kristin E. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Registered Nurses ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personal Care ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Licensed Practical Nurses ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Practical Nurses ◽  
Nursing Aides

One reason that nursing homes are a primary source of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the United States may be that workers hold multiple jobs. We use 2010-2019 Current Population Survey data to document the rate of second jobholding among nursing and long-term care workers. On average, 6.41% of personal care and nursing aides and 6.23% of licensed practical nurses and registered nurses hold second jobs; second job holding rates are 35% and 32% higher than those of other workers, respectively. Both wages and hours in the primary job are negatively associated with the probability of holding a second job for personal care and nursing aides, while lower hours are more strongly correlated with a second job for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Many of these workers move across health settings from their first to second jobs, and 15% of second jobs for personal care and nursing aides are in other “essential” occupations.

scholarly journals Personal care workers in Australian aged care: retention and turnover intentions

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 557-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Radford ◽  
Kate Shacklock ◽  
Graham Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Turnover Intentions ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Personal Care ◽  
Care Workers

scholarly journals Running to stand still? Two decades of trade union activity in the Irish long-term care sector

2021 ◽  
pp. 102425892110284
Author(s):  
Caroline Murphy ◽  
Michelle O’Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Public Expenditure ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Personal Care ◽  
Decent Work ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Policy Regimes ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Care Workers

This article examines the ongoing efforts of trade unions in Ireland to protect and improve the working conditions of personal care workers amid employment and social policy regimes associated with a liberal welfare state. Comparatively low public expenditure on care and the increasing marketisation of care services have undermined the provision of decent work. This article assesses two major union campaigns related to personal care workers over two decades, and reviews the key priorities that have emerged for unions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We consider whether the outcomes of these campaigns have been converted into enhanced rewards for workers and discuss the continuing challenges for union campaigning.

Insiders and outsiders: policy and care workers in Taiwan's long-term care system

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 2090-2116 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHEN-FEN CHEN
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Care System

ABSTRACTAs in many developed countries, foreign care-givers have made up a short-term labour force to help shoulder the responsibilities of older adult care in Taiwan since 1992. This study uses the dual labour market and the occupational segregation theoretical frameworks and a mixed-method approach to examine whether foreign care-givers are supplementary or have replaced Taiwanese care-givers in Taiwan's long-term care (LTC) industry, and to understand better the status of care workers and their influx into the secondary labour market. As of 2012, 189,373 foreign workers joined the care services, compared to 7,079 Taiwanese, indicating they are no longer supplementary. The gap between the dual care system and workforce regulation has resulted in occupation segregation, and the secondary care labour market has been divided into ‘institutional’ and ‘home’ spheres, segregating care-givers into three levels: all Taiwanese care-givers, foreign institutional care-givers, and foreign home care-givers, the latter being the cheapest, most obedient and most adaptable LTC products. This case exhibits the ‘particularistic’ associations between nationality and care-givers’ workplace, which should be abolished. Only by squarely facing the changes and impacts caused by importing workers into the secondary labour market can one propose concrete, effective LTC labour plans and retention policies.

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