Working in a care home during the COVID-19 pandemic: How has the pandemic changed working practices? A qualitative study

BMC Geriatrics

Clarissa Giebel¹  Mark Gabbay¹  Kerry Hanna²  Stephen Mason³  Manoj Rajagopal⁴  Jacqueline Cannon⁵  Paul Marlow⁶  Hilary Tetlow⁷  Justine Shenton⁸ 

[1] Department of Primary Care, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK;NIHR ARC NWC, Liverpool, UK;Department of Primary Care, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK;NIHR ARC NWC, Liverpool, UK;School of Health Sciences, University of Liverpool, L69 3GB, Liverpool, UK;Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK;Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Preston, UK;Lewy Body Society, Wigan, UK;NIHR ARC NWC, Liverpool, UK;SURF Liverpool, Liverpool, UK;Sefton Advocacy, Southport, UK;

关键词: Care homes;    Nursing homes;    Care workforce;    COVID-19;    Pandemics;    Working practices;    Older people;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-022-02822-0

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe pandemic has significantly affected care homes’ residents and families through the national visiting restrictions. However, less is known on the impact these changes have had on the care home workforce. The aim of this research was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the working practices of care home staff, caring for people living with dementia.MethodsRemote qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with care home staff caring for people living with dementia (PLWD) in the UK.ResultsParticipants were recruited to the larger programme of research via convenience sampling. Interviews were conducted via telephone or online platforms. This research employed inductive thematic analysis. Sixteen care home staff were included in this study. Three overarching themes were developed from the analysis that conveyed changes to the everyday working practices of the care home workforce and the impact such changes posed to staff wellbeing: (1) Practical implications of working in a care home during the COVID-19 pandemic; (2); Staff values and changes to the staff roles (3): Impact to the care home staff and concerns for the care sector.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the daily working practices of care home staff, with staff forced to adopt additional roles on top of increased workloads to compensate for the loss of external agencies and support. Support and guidance must be offered urgently to inform care home staff on how to best adapt to their new working practices, ensuring that they are adequately trained.

【 授权许可】

CC BY