Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakae-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan.
Graduate School of Gerontology, J. F. Oberlin University, 3758 Tokiwa-machi, Machida-shi, Tokyo, 194-0294, Japan.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Nov 30;21(1):1285. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-07302-6.
As there is a shortage of care staff in elderly care homes, seniors are expected to work as assistants to help the care staff. This study examined the influence of older assistant workers in intermediate elderly care facilities on care staff, specifically focusing on emotional exhaustion which is a sign of burnout. These facilities provide long-term nursing and supportive care to older residents.
Data from a mail survey of intermediate elderly care facilities with older assistant workers were analyzed. Care staff were asked about the advantages and disadvantages of introducing older assistant workers in elderly care work, and their degree of emotional exhaustion. We also assessed work self-evaluations of older assistant workers, including the benefits of the work, and physical and mental burdens.
A significantly large number of care staff reported improvements in workload with the employment of older assistant workers. Intermediate elderly care facilities enrolling more older assistant workers showed lower mean emotional exhaustion among care staff, independent of possible covariates. While older assistant workers felt that their work contributed to helping both care users and staff, they also reported a mental burden.
Our results suggest that older assistant workers can play a significant role in reducing the physical and mental burden of intermediate elderly care facility staff. Thus, employing older assistant workers can be an effective approach to addressing shortages of care staff in elderly care homes.
由于养老院护理人员短缺，老年人被期望作为助理来帮助护理人员。本研究考察了中级养老院中老年助理工人对护理人员的影响，特别是关注作为职业倦怠迹象的情绪衰竭。这些机构为老年居民提供长期护理和支持性护理。
对有老年助理工人的中级养老院的邮件调查数据进行了分析。护理人员被问及在老年护理工作中引入老年助理工人的优缺点，以及他们的情绪衰竭程度。我们还评估了老年助理工人的工作自我评价，包括工作的好处以及身心负担。
大量护理人员报告说，雇用老年助理工人后，工作量有所改善。中级养老院中雇用更多老年助理工人的机构，其护理人员的平均情绪衰竭程度较低，这与可能的协变量无关。虽然老年助理工人认为他们的工作有助于帮助护理对象和工作人员，但他们也报告了精神负担。
我们的结果表明，老年助理工人可以在减轻中级养老院工作人员的身心负担方面发挥重要作用。因此，雇用老年助理工人可以是解决养老院护理人员短缺的有效方法。
