Resilience of Aged Care Workers Providing Care to People Living with Dementia (Image 1) An Honours Research Project Presented by Amelia McDonell 07.10.2014 Supervisors: Dr Mandy Stanley & Ms Allison Ballantyne
The Context People Living With Dementia In 2050 115.4 Million 942 000 (Access Economics 2011; WHO 2012).
Dementia Dementia is a syndrome characterised by progressive, irreversible impairments in cognitive functions such as memory, reasoning, comprehension, language, personality and performance of everyday activities (AIHW 2011; AIHW 2012; Alzheimer s Australia 2005; Keady & Jones 2010; Stubbs 2011; Osborne, Simpson & Stokes 2010; Todd & Watts 2005).
What about Resilience Resilience is the process of effectively negotiating, adapting to, or managing significant sources of stress or trauma {Windle 2011).
The Research Question What contributes to aged care worker s personal perceptions of resilience when working with residents with dementia who receive a high level of care?
Method qualitative descriptive research design Purposive sampling Recruitment Presentation & Snowballing Method semi-structured in-depth interviews Thematic Analysis (Creswell 2011; Magilvy & Thomas 2009; Sandelowski 2000; Tesch 1990))
Interviews Interview Questions 1) Tell me about your history of working in aged care. 2) a) Can you tell me about some of your most positive experiences caring for people living with dementia? b) Can you tell me about some of your most challenging experiences working with people living with dementia? 3) What do you think it means to be resilient? 4) What would I need to know in order to thrive in a job like yours? 5) Can you share a story about how you have managed to overcome challenges you have faced at work? 6) Is there anything else you think I should have asked?
Data Analysis
Rigour Transferability Credibility Confirmability Dependability Description of Population given Member checking Use of direct quotes Peer debriefing Double coding Reflexive journal Audit Trail
Findings POSITION Care Worker 2 Care worker + student facilitator/trainer 2 Enrolled Nurse 1 Registered Nurse 1 Clinical Nurse 1 Clinical Nurse Consultant 1 GENDER Male 2 Female 6 AGE 25-34 1 35-44 1 45-54 4 55-64 2 YEARS WORKING IN AGED CARE 1-2 years 2-5 6-10 10-20 20-30 30+ 1 2 1 2 1 1
Themes Gotta be on your ball game Knowledge is the thing Have it here in your heart You ve got to have support
Have it here in your heart (You have) to have it here in your heart to be able to do this sort of job. It s not a job you just come in and just do. I love my job. I feel it in my heart. And my head. It has to be both places. It s something you have to want to do - Mary
Gotta be on your ball game You ve gotta be on your ball game. Because if you start to get frustrated with them they ll pick it up and they ll... They ll double it - Laura
you ve got to have support I have an open door policy. Because I believe that in order to have resilience at work you ve got to have support. And management support is very big - Annabelle
Knowledge is the thing I think a bit part of aged care is going to be people with dementia. So we need people to know what it is and how to care for people with dementia Yeah, knowledge is the thing - Elizabeth
Implications for practice Resilience can be cultivated at An individual level A team level A management level (Ollier-Malaterre 2010). Resilience can be learnt
Implications Aged care organisations have the responsibility to foster resilience in direct care staff
Limitations Lack of ethnic diversity in the sample Care workers were represented more than registered or enrolled nurses
Conclusion As the population in Australia ages and the number of people living with dementia increases, aged care organisations have the responsibility to ensure provision of quality aged care services. This can be achieved in part by fostering resilience in the workforce.
References Access Economics 2011, Dementia across Australia 2011-2050, Access Economics for Alzheimer's Australia. Creswell, J 2014, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 4 th edn, SAGE Publications, Los Angeles, USA. Keady, J & Jones, L 2010, 'Investigating the Causes of Behaviours that Challenge in People with Dementia', Nursing Older People, vol. 22, no. 9, pp. 25-29. Magilvy, J & Thomas, E 2009, 'A First Qualitative Project: Qualitative Descriptive Design for Novice Researchers', Journal for specialists in pediatric nursing, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 298-300. Ollier-Malaterre 2010, Contributions of work-life and resilience initiatives to the individual/organization relationship Human Relations, vol. 63, no.1, pp. 41-62. Osborne, H, Simpson, J & Stokes, G 2010, 'The Relationship Between Pre-morbid Personality and Challenging Behaviour in People with Dementia: a Systematic Review', Aging & Mental Health, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 503-515. Sandelowski, M 2000, Whatever Happened to Qualitative Description? Research in Nursing & Health, vol. 23, no. 4, pp.334-340. Tesch, R 1990, Qualitative Research : Analysis Types and Software Tools, Falmer Press, New York. Thorne, S 2004, Interpretive description, Left Coast Press, California Todd, S & Watts, S 2005, 'Staff Responses to Challenging Behaviour shown by People with Dementia: an Application of an Attributional-Emotional Model of Helping Behaviour', Aging & Mental Health, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 71-81. Windle, G 2011, 'What is resilience? A review and concept analysis', Reviews in Clinical Gerontology, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 152-169. World Health Organisation 2012, Dementia: A Public Health Priority, World Health Organisation.
Questions?