Dementia care and labour market: The role of job satisfaction
- 29 May 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Aging & Mental Health
- Vol. 13 (3), 383-390
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860902861043
Abstract
Objectives: A labour shortage in the dementia care sector is to be expected in the near future in the Netherlands and in many other European states. The objective of this study is to analyse why people quit or avoid jobs in dementia care. Method: An integrative analysis was used to study reports, articles, and Website information on the dementia care labour market. Results: The main reason for quitting a (dementia) care job was the lack of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction was reduced by a lack of appreciation and professionals’ own dissatisfaction about the quality of care they were able to provide. Effects of staff training on job satisfaction, quality of dementia care, and patient functioning are promising. Conclusion: Job satisfaction is the main cause of quitting (dementia) care jobs. It might also be the key to solving problems in the dementia care labour market. Considering health-care workers as precious capital and taking adequate measures to enhance job satisfaction might contribute to a better image of dementia care. The following hypothesis has been derived from our results: enhancement of job satisfaction will prevent professional caregivers from quitting jobs and improve the quality of care and patient outcomes.This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- Searching for value: The influence of policy and reform on nurses’ sense of value in long‐term aged care in AustraliaInternational Journal of Nursing Practice, 2006
- Systematic Review of Studies of Staffing and Quality in Nursing HomesJournal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2006
- Analysis of a care planning intervention for reducing depression in older people in residential careAging & Mental Health, 2006
- The integrative review: updated methodologyJournal of Advanced Nursing, 2005
- STAR: A Dementia-Specific Training Program for Staff in Assisted Living Residences: Nancy Morrow-Howell, MSW, PhD, EditorThe Gerontologist, 2005
- Rationing and competition in the Dutch health-care systemHealth Economics, 2005
- Factors affecting timely recognition and diagnosis of dementia across Europe: from awareness to stigmaInternational Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2005
- The effect of integrated emotion‐oriented care versus usual care on elderly persons with dementia in the nursing home and on nursing assistants: a randomized clinical trialInternational Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2005
- Introduction: Stigma and discrimination against older people with mental disordersInternational Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2003
- Nurses' satisfaction with nursing care and work at three care units for severely demented peopleJournal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 1995