Jorgensen Diane, Parsons Matthew, Reid Michelle Gundersen, Weidenbohm Kate, Parsons John, Jacobs Stephen
School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Health Soc Care Community. 2009 Jul;17(4):396-405. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2524.2008.00839.x. Epub 2009 Feb 12.
To understand one of the predominant groups supporting people with disabilities and illness, this study examined the profile of New Zealand paid caregivers, including their training needs. Paid caregivers, also known as healthcare assistants, caregivers and home health aides, work across several long-term care settings, such as residential homes, continuing-care hospitals and also private homes. Their roles include assisting with personal care and household management. New Zealand, similar to other countries, is facing a health workforce shortage. A three-phased design was used: phase I, a survey of all home-based and residential care providers (N = 942, response rate = 45%); phase II, a targeted survey of training needs (n = 107, response = 100%); phase III, four focus groups and 14 interviews with 36 providers, exploring themes arising from phases I and II. Findings on 17,910 paid caregivers revealed a workforce predominantly female (94%), aged between 40 and 50, with 6% over the age of 60. Mean hourly pay NZ$10.90 (minimum wage NZ$10.00 approx. UK3.00 at time of study) and 24 hours per week. The national paid caregiver turnover was 29% residential care and 39% community. Most providers recognised the importance of training, but felt their paid caregivers were not adequately trained. Training was poorly attended; reasons cited were funding, family, secondary employment, staff turnover, low pay and few incentives. The paid caregiver profile described reflects trends also observed in other countries. There is a clear policy direction in New Zealand and other countries to support people with a disability at home, and yet the workforce which is facilitating this vision is itself highly vulnerable. Paid caregivers have minimum pay, are female, work part-time and although it is recognised that training is important for them, they do not attend, so consequently remain untrained.
为了解支持残疾人和病人的主要群体之一，本研究调查了新西兰付费护理人员的概况，包括他们的培训需求。付费护理人员，也被称为医疗保健助理、护理人员和家庭健康助理，在多个长期护理场所工作，如养老院、康复医院以及私人住宅。他们的职责包括协助个人护理和家庭管理。与其他国家一样，新西兰正面临卫生人力短缺的问题。本研究采用了三阶段设计：第一阶段，对所有居家和机构护理提供者进行调查（N = 942，回复率 = 45%）；第二阶段，针对培训需求进行定向调查（n = 107，回复率 = 100%）；第三阶段，开展四个焦点小组讨论，并对36名提供者进行14次访谈，探讨第一阶段和第二阶段出现的主题。对17910名付费护理人员的调查结果显示，该劳动力群体主要为女性（94%），年龄在40至50岁之间，60岁以上的占6%。平均时薪为10.90新西兰元（研究时最低工资约为10.00新西兰元，约合3.00英镑），每周工作24小时。全国付费护理人员的离职率在机构护理中为29%，在社区护理中为39%。大多数提供者认识到培训的重要性，但认为他们的付费护理人员没有得到充分培训。培训参与率很低；提到的原因包括资金、家庭、兼职工作、人员流动、低薪和激励措施少。所描述的付费护理人员概况也反映了在其他国家观察到的趋势。新西兰和其他国家都有明确的政策方向，支持残疾人在家中生活，然而，推动这一愿景实现 的劳动力群体本身却非常脆弱。付费护理人员工资最低，以女性为主且兼职工作，尽管人们认识到培训对他们很重要，但他们却不参加培训，因此仍然未受过培训。
