Quality home care for persons living with dementia: Personal support workers' perspectives in Ontario, Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Breen ◽  
Marie Y. Savundranayagam ◽  
Joseph B. Orange ◽  
Anita Kothari
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
Personal Support Workers

scholarly journals Challenging Aggressive Behaviors Experienced by Personal Support Workers in Comparison to Home Care Workers: Relationships between Caregiver Experiences and Psychological Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (15) ◽  
pp. 5486
Author(s):  
Kelsey N. Womack ◽  
Teala W. Alvord ◽  
Caitlyn F. Trullinger-Dwyer ◽  
Sean P. M. Rice ◽  
Ryan Olson
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Safety Concern ◽  
Challenging Behaviors ◽  
Injury Rate ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Personal Support Workers ◽  
Lost Work Time ◽  
Home Care Workers

Personal support workers (PSW) are caregivers for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) or adults experiencing mental illness or other behavioral health conditions. The work can be very meaningful, but many PSWs must prepare for, monitor, and manage challenging behaviors, including aggression. This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of aggression experienced by PSWs in Oregon, and compare it to a previous sample of Oregon home care workers (HCWs). This comparison included an analysis of relationships between exposures to aggression and psychological health factors. PSWs in Oregon (N = 240) were surveyed electronically at a single time point. PSWs generally reported higher rates of exposure to aggression compared to HCWs. Experiences with aggression were positively associated with fatigue and weakly associated with depression, but not stress. PSWs’ self-reported lost work time injury rate was elevated compared to the US average, but it was comparable to previous self-reported injury rates from HCWs. Physical demands of work were the most prevalent reported primary safety concern, followed by challenging behaviors (including aggression). Developing tailored training to help PSWs understand, plan for, minimize, and manage challenging behaviors is a social priority.

Policy and Practice Note: Policy, Safety, and Regulation with Regard to Ontario Home Care Clients and Personal Support Workers

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Pamela Hopwood ◽  
Ellen MacEachen
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Community Health Care ◽  
Support Worker ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
Home And Community Care ◽  
Personal Support Workers ◽  
Physical Care ◽  
Home Care Safety

Abstract In light of COVID-19 and elevated concerns for the health of older Canadians receiving care, this Policy and Practice Note explores the confluence of the current home care policy landscape and the organisation of personal support worker (PSW) work, and highlights the need to consider governance of PSW work generally, and in-home and community care especially. PSWs are currently not professionally regulated, nor is there a central site documenting location, education, or any form of verification of the PSW workforce. Home care PSWs often provide physical care in isolated settings with no in-person supervision. In home and community health care, complaints about PSWs can be scattered among different service providers or client files not linked to or searchable by PSW name. This policy note explores how these factors and the currently unregulated status of PSWs affect home care safety in general as well as in the context of COVID-19, Ontario’s decentralised home care system, and efforts towards professional regulation.

scholarly journals HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS’ EXPERIENCES IN CARING FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH MULTIPLE CHRONIC CONDITIONS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S317-S318
Author(s):  
Jenny Ploeg ◽  
Marie-Lee Yous ◽  
Kimberly Fraser ◽  
Sinéad Dufour ◽  
Sharon Kaasalainen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Multiple Chronic Conditions ◽  
Team Approach ◽  
Personal Support

Abstract The management of multiple chronic conditions (MCC) in older adults living in the community is complex. Little is known about the experiences of interdisciplinary primary care and home providers who care for this vulnerable group. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of healthcare providers in managing the care of community-living older adults with MCC and to highlight their recommendations for improving care delivery for this group. A qualitative interpretive description design was used. A total of 42 healthcare providers from two provinces in Canada participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants represented diverse disciplines (e.g., physicians, nurses, social workers, personal support workers) and settings (e.g., primary care and home care). Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview data. The experiences of healthcare providers managing care for older adults with MCC were organized into six major themes: (1) managing complexity associated with MCC, (2) implementing person-centred care, (3), involving and supporting family caregivers, (4) using a team approach for holistic care delivery, (5) encountering rewards and challenges in caring for older adults with MCC, and (6) recommending ways to address the challenges of the healthcare system. Healthcare providers highlighted the need for a more comprehensive integrated system of care to improve care management for older adults with MCC and their family caregivers. Specifically, they suggested increased care coordination, more comprehensive primary care visits with an interprofessional team, and increased home care support.

scholarly journals Communication and Language: Why Age Matters

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 574-575
Author(s):  
Alison Chasteen ◽  
Sali Tagliamonte
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
Personal Support Workers ◽  
Language And Communication ◽  
Effects Of Aging

Abstract In line with this year’s 75th anniversary theme, we will show why aging matters for communication and language. Specifically, in this symposium we will show how aging affects communication and language across a variety of social contexts, social roles, and cognitive abilities. Pabst & Tagliamonte discuss the effects of aging on language use by examining an individual’s daily diary entries over 30 years, including the onset and progression of dementia. Saunders considers language and communication in the context of social interaction among persons with dementia living in a long-term care setting. Savundranayagam et al. test the efficacy of a communication intervention for personal support workers who work with persons with dementia. Chasteen & Tagliamonte consider how ageism is communicated to middle-aged and older adults in everyday life. Taken together, these presentations will provide a multidimensional lens to understanding language and communication in later life.

Personal support workers and the labour market

2020 ◽  
pp. 183-204
Author(s):  
Audrey Laporte ◽  
Adrian Rohit Dass ◽  
Whitney Berta ◽  
Raisa Deber ◽  
Katherine Zagrodney
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
Personal Support Workers

Unpaid informal carers: The ‘shadow’ workforce in health care

2020 ◽  
pp. 33-58
Author(s):  
A. Paul Williams ◽  
Janet M. Lum
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Health Human Resource ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Social Closure ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
The Family ◽  
Personal Support Workers ◽  
Informal Carers

Much of the international literature on health human resources focuses on highly trained, regulated and visible professionals with exclusionary social closure in neo-Weberian terms, such as doctors and nurses. However, researchers and policy makers are now paying more attention to the increasingly important role played by less well-trained, often unregulated, and less visible occupations such as personal support workers. Beyond these categories of paid workers exists another mostly uncharted health human resource: unpaid, little trained, largely unregulated and invisible informal carers. They include the family, friends and neighbours who provide the bulk of everyday care required to support the well being and independence of growing numbers of people facing multiple chronic health and social needs in community settings. Focusing on Canada, this chapter documents the characteristics and contributions of informal carers, and highlights the challenging realities of informal caregiving – both from the perspective of carers and policy makers considering how best to support and encourage unpaid, informal carers without driving up formal health system costs.

Understanding sickness absence in nurses and personal support workers: Insights from frontline staff and key informants in Northeastern Ontario

Work ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-766
Author(s):  
Basem Gohar ◽  
Michel Larivière ◽  
Nancy Lightfoot ◽  
Elizabeth Wenghofer ◽  
Céline Larivière ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Sickness Absence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Sickness Absenteeism ◽  
Key Informants ◽  
Staff Shortage ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
Personal Support Workers ◽  
Group Sessions

BACKGROUND: Nurses and personal support workers (PSWs) have high sickness absence rates in Canada. Whilst the evidence-based literature helped to identify the variables related to sickness absenteeism, understanding “why” remains unknown. This information could benefit the healthcare sector in northeastern Ontario and in locations where healthcare is one of the largest employment sectors and where nursing staff have high absence and turnover rates. OBJECTIVE: To identify and understand the factors associated with sickness absence among nurses and PSWs through several experiences while investigating if there are northern-related reasons to explain the high rates of sickness absence. METHODS: In this descriptive qualitative study, focus group sessions took place with registered nurses (n = 6), registered practical nurses (n = 4), PSWs (n = 8), and key informants who specialize in occupational health and nursing unions (n = 5). Focus group sessions were transcribed verbatim followed by inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four main themes emerged, which were occupational/organizational challenges, physical health, emotional toll on mental well-being, and northern-related challenges. Descriptions of why such factors lead to sickness absence were addressed with staff shortage serving as an underlying factor. CONCLUSION: Despite the complexity of the manifestations of sickness absence, work support and timely debriefing could reduce sickness absence and by extension, staff shortage.

scholarly journals Personal support workers’ perception of safety in a changing world of work

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Denton ◽  
Isik U. Zeytinoglu ◽  
Catherine Brookman ◽  
Sharon Davies ◽  
Patricia Boucher
Keyword(s):  
Personal Support ◽  
Perception Of Safety ◽  
Personal Support Workers ◽  
Changing World
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