The School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden.
The School of Health and Welfare, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden.
Int J Older People Nurs. 2024 Nov;19(6):e12663. doi: 10.1111/opn.12663.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, older people in Sweden's residential care facilities and home care services experienced high mortality rates. Prior to the pandemic, the care of older people in Sweden was challenged by organisational and regulatory changes, an ageing population and insufficient increases in staff numbers. These issues led to high staff turnover, increased workloads, stress, burnout and a perceived inability to provide satisfactory care. The pandemic brought about increased job strain, stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder among the staff who cared for older people. The aim of this study was therefore to focus on assistant nurses and care aides' experiences of their work environments when caring for older people during the pandemic in Sweden.
The data were collected through four focus groups interviews and analysed using qualitative content analysis.
The results showed that the care staff had to navigate organisational and ethical challenges in poor and unsafe work environments. They lacked supportive leadership in their respective organisations, were neither valued, seen nor heard and were treated as 'plain doers'. During the pandemic, they were unable to protect or communicate easily with the older people in their care, which had harsh consequences.
According to the participants, the pandemic left them, their working conditions and this part of the care system in a worse situation than before the pandemic. The pandemic thus revealed more unsustainable and unethical working conditions for the staff than before it, including the vulnerability of the older people in their care.
The findings highlights the need of policies that ensure adequate training and instruction on medical issues, for managers responsible for overseeing the care of older people. There are also a need of provision of sufficient support for care staff and health care professionals during crises. The findings also underscore the need of feasible and efficient strategies do disseminate care information and address the psychosocial needs of older people.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，瑞典的养老院和家庭护理服务中的老年人死亡率很高。在大流行之前，瑞典老年人的护理受到组织和监管变革、人口老龄化以及工作人员数量增加不足的挑战。这些问题导致员工离职率高、工作量增加、压力大、倦怠和无法提供满意的护理。大流行给照顾老年人的工作人员带来了更大的工作压力、压力、焦虑、抑郁和创伤后应激障碍。因此，本研究的目的是关注助理护士和护理助理在瑞典大流行期间照顾老年人时的工作环境体验。
通过四次焦点小组访谈收集数据，并使用定性内容分析进行分析。
研究结果表明，护理人员不得不在恶劣和不安全的工作环境中应对组织和伦理挑战。他们在各自的组织中缺乏支持性的领导，既不被重视、重视或听到，也不被视为“实干家”。在大流行期间，他们无法轻松地保护或与他们照顾的老年人进行沟通，这产生了恶劣的后果。
根据参与者的说法，大流行使他们、他们的工作条件和这部分护理系统的状况比大流行前更糟。因此，大流行揭示了比大流行前更不可持续和不道德的工作条件，包括他们照顾的老年人的脆弱性。
研究结果强调了需要制定政策，确保负责监督老年人护理的管理人员获得足够的医疗问题培训和指导。在危机期间，还需要为护理人员和医疗保健专业人员提供足够的支持。研究结果还强调了需要制定可行和有效的策略来传播护理信息和解决老年人的心理社会需求。
