Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:42:00.829Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Working Conditions in Home Care: Comparing Three Groups of Workers*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Sheila M. Neysmith  and
Barbara Nichols
Sheila M. Neysmith
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Barbara Nichols
Affiliation:
McGill University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper explores similarities and differences in the way caring work is experienced by kin, homemakers and volunteers. Under the conceptual umbrella of working conditions, issues of work milieu, isolation, communication, feedback, autonomy, motivation and choice are compared across these three groups of care providers. Although the functional capacities of the elderly persons receiving care were quite similiar, the circumstances that surrounded the performance of caring were quite different. The paper argues that the context within which care is provided will be critical in future policy discussions. It is suggested that the specific task content of providing care may be of secondary importance to understanding the context within which care providers carry out these activities.

Résumé

Cette étude porte sur les similitudes et les différences entre les méthodes de soins utilisées par trois groupes de prestateurs de soins, soit les proches parents, les femmes au foyer et les bénévoles. Dans le contexte des conditions de travail, des questions ayant trait au milieu de travail, à l'isolement, à la communication, aux réactions, à l'autonomie, à la motivation et au choix font l'objet d'une comparaison au sein de ces trois groupes. Même si les capacités fonctionnelles des personnes âgées bénéficiant des soins étaient semblables, les circonstances touchant la prestation de soins variaient beaucoup. L'étude démontre que le contexte au sein duquel les soins sont prodigués représente un élément clé dans le cadre de discussions futures en matière d'établissement de politiques. Elle suggère que les tâches particulières relatives à la prestation de soins ne sont qu'un élément secondaire servant à comprendre le contexte dans lequel chaque prestateur de soins accomplit son travail.

Keywords

HomemakersWorking ConditionsVolunteersWomen.Femmes au foyerconditions de travailbénévolesfemmes.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , Été/Summer 1994 , pp. 169 - 186
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abel, E., & Nelson, M. (Eds.). (1990). Circles of care: Work and identity in women's lives. Albany, NY: State University of New York.Google Scholar
Austin, C. (1992). When the whole is more than the sum of its parts: Case management issues from a systems perspective. Paper presented at the First National Conference on Long-Term Care Case Management. February 3, 1992. Seattle, WA.Google Scholar
Baines, C, Evans, P., & Neysmith, S. (1991). Women's caring: Feminist perspectives on social welfare. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.Google Scholar
Baldock, J., & Ungerson, C. (1991). “What d'ya want if you don' want money?' — a feminist critique of ‘;volunteering'’”. In Maclean, M. and Groves, D. (Eds.), Women's issues in social policy. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bartoldus, E., Gillery, B., & Sturges, P. (1989). Job-related stress and coping among home-care workers with elderly people. Health and Social Work, 14, 204–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Binney, E., Estes, C., & Ingman, S. (1990). Medicalization, public policy and the elderly: Social services in jeopardy? Social Science and Medicine, 30(7), 761–771.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brannon, D., Smyer, M., Cohn, M., Borchardt, L., Landry, J., Jay, G., Garfein, A., Malonebeach, E., & Walls, C. (1988). A Job diagnostic survey of nursing home caregivers: Implications for job redesign. The Gerontologist, 28, 246–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brody, E., Kleban, M., Johnsen, P., Hoffman, C, & Schoonover, C. (1987). Work status and parent care: A comparison of four groups of women. The Gerontologist, 27, 201–208.Google Scholar
Cantor, M. (1983). Strain among caregivers: A study of the experience in the United States. The Gerontologist, 23, 597–604.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chappell, N., Strain, L., & Blandford, A. (1986). Aging and health care: A social perspective. Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada Ltd.Google Scholar
Daatland, S. (1990). What are families for? On family solidarity and preference for help. Ageing and Society, 10, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, B., & Challis, D. (1986). Matching resources to needs in community care. An evaluated demonstration of a long-term care model. Aldershot: Gower.Google Scholar
Deimling, G., & Bass, D. (1986). Symptoms of mental impairment among elderly adults and their effects on family caregivers. Journal of Gerontology, 41(6), 778–784.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Donovan, R. (1987). Home care work: A legacy of slavery In U.S. health care. Affilia, Fall (2), 33–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donovan, R. (1989). Work stress and job satisfaction: A study of home care workers in New York City. Home Health Care Services Quarterly, 10, 97–114.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dooghe, G. (1992). Informal caregivers of elderly people: An European view. Ageing and Society, 12(3), 369–380.Google Scholar
Estes, C, Swan, J., & Associates. (1993). The long-term care crisis: Elders trapped in the no-care zone. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Eustis, N., Kane, R., & Fischer, L. (1993). Home care quality and the home care worker. The Gerontologist, 33, 64–73.Google Scholar
Feldman, P. (1993). Work life improvements for home care workers. The Gerontologist, 33, 47–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garland, T., Oyabu, N., & Gipson, G. (1989). Job satisfaction among nurse assistants employed in nursing homes: An analysis of selected job characteristics. Journal of Aging Studies, 3, 369–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
George, L., & Gwyther, L. (1986). Caregiver well-being: A multidimensional examination of family caregivers of demented adults. The Gerontologist, 26, 253–259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilbert, N. (1991). Home care worker resignations: A study of the major contributing factors. Home Health Care Services Quarterly, 12, 69–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grau, L., Chandler, B., Burton, B., & Kolditz, D. (1991). In stitutional loyalty and job satisfaction among nurse aides in nursing homes. Journal of Aging and Health, 3, 47–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, H. (1988). Informal carers. London: OPCS, HMSO.Google Scholar
Hackman, J., & Oldham, G. (1975). Development of the job diagnostic Survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 159–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrington, C., & Grant, L. (1990). The delivery, regulation and politics of home care: A California case example. The Gerontologist, 30, 451–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, A., Ozanne, E., & Selby-Smith, C. (Eds.). (1990). Community care policy and practice: New directions in Australia. Victoria: Monash University.Google Scholar
Kane, N. (1989) The Home care crisis of the nineties. The Gerontologist, 29, 24–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kane, R., & Kane, R. (1987). Long-term care: Principles, programs and policies. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Kane, R., Penrod, J., Davidson, G., & Moscovice, I. (1991). What cost case management in long-term care? Social Service Review, 65(2), 281–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaye, L. (1986). Worker views of the intensity of affective expression during the delivery of home care services for the elderly. Home Health Care Services Quarterly, 7, 41–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kraan, R., & Evers, A. (Eds.). (1991). Care for the elderly: Significant innovations in three European countries. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Lee, R., Mueller, L., & Miller, K. (1981). Wage-earner status, occupational level and job satisfaction. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 18, 362–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacFadgen, S. (1987). The care of irreversible dementia sufferers in the Toronto and Peel regions: Perceptions of service providers. Canadian Journal on Aging, 6(4), 271–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin Matthews, A. (1992). Final report: Homemaker services to the elderly: Provider characteristics and client benefit. Guelph, ON: Gerontology Research Centre, University of Guelph.Google Scholar
Morycz, R. (1985). Caregiving strain and the desire to institutionalize family members with Alzheimer's disease: Possible predictors and model development. Research on Aging, 7(3), 329–361.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mottaz, C. (1987). An analysis of the relationship between work satisfaction and organizational committment. The Sociological Quarterly, 28, 541–558.Google Scholar
Ontario. Ministry of Community and Social Services. (1990). Strategies for change: Comprehensive reform of Ontario's long-term care services. Toronto: Queen's Printer Ontario.Google Scholar
Penning, M. (1990). Receipt of assistance by elderly people: Hierarchiai selection and task specificity. The Gerontologist, 30(2), 220–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pierce, J., & Dunham, R. (1978). The measurement of perceived job characteristics: The job diagnostic survey versus the job characteristics inventory. Academy of Management Journal, 21, 123–128.Google Scholar
Poulshock, S., & Deimling, G. (1984). Family caring for elders in residence: Issues in the measurement of burden. Journal of Gerontology, 39(2), 230–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pratt, C., Schmal, V., Wright, S., & Cleland, M. (1985). Burden and coping strategies of caregivers to Alzheimer's patients. Family Relations, 24, 27–34.Google Scholar
Pruchno, R., & Resch, N. (1989). Husbands and wives as caregivers: Antecedents of depression and burden. The Gerontologist, 29, 159–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Quayhagen, M., & Quayhagen, M. (1988). Alzheimer's stress: Coping with the caregiving role. The Gerontologist, 28, 391–396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shapiro, E. (1991). Home care: Where is it and where should it be going? In Wells, L. (Ed.), An aging population: The challenge for community action. Toronto: Governing Council, University of Toronto.Google Scholar
Stone, R., Cafferata, G., & Sangle, J. (1987). Caregivers of the frail elderly: A national profile. The Gerontologist, 27, 616–626.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Szasz, A. (1990). The labor impacts of policy change in health care: How federal plicy transformed home health organizations and their labor practices. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 15, 191–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornton, P. (1991). Subject to contract? Volunteers as providers of community care for elderly people and their supporters. Journal of Aging Studies, 5, 181–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ungerson, C. (1990). Gender and caring: Work and welfare in Britain and Scandinavia. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.Google Scholar
Vellekoop-Baldock, C. (1990). Volunteers in welfare. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar