JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The Canadian Long-term care (LTC) workforce cares for increasing complex residents and as these care needs become greater, so do the demands placed on the LTC workforce. Despite this, LTC staffing and resources have remained largely unchanged and under-researched over the last decade. Among the four Provinces in Atlantic Canada the population is described as “super-old” indicating a high need for LTC. The health and well-being of the LTC workforce are critical components of care quality, and yet only in the Western Canada are such data routinely and systematically collected. Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) is a program of research two decades old from Alberta who have been studying the LTC work environment and has found strong links between the working conditions of LTC staff and resident outcomes. We draw upon their success by using their comprehensive data collection tools to generate evidence needed to understand, support, and manage the LTC workforce in Canada’s four Atlantic provinces.

Objective:

The overall objective of the study is to assess quality of work life among staff in LTC homes in NS, NB, PEI and NL; To examine the effects of the work environment on quality of work life; and to build capacity for research in the LTC sector in Atlantic Canada among knowledge users, early career researchers, and trainees. The objective of paper is to describe the approach needed to examine the quality of work life and health of care staff in LTC homes.

Methods:

A stratified random sampling technique will be used to recruit homes in Atlantic Canada. The sampling frame was designed to recruit 25% of the LTC homes in each of four provinces with proportional representation by size, ownership model and, if applicable, region or language. Key outcome variables include measure of mental and wellbeing, quality of work life, intention to leave, workplace context, and missed or rushed care. Primary data will be obtained by structured interviews with care aides and online surveys from RNs, LPNs, Managers and Allied Health Workers. Eligible participants were from a RLTC home with at least 25 residents, 90% of whom were aged 65 or older, and had work in the home for at least 3 months.

Results:

As of June 1, 2024, data collection is complete. During July-September 2024 data were cleaned and organized for analysis. Data analysis will commence October 1, 2024. Initially individual reports will present descriptive data for each participating LTC home. Concurrent with these descriptive analysis, analytical analysis is planned for publication in peer-review journals.

Conclusions:

This peer-reviewed research protocol lays the foundation for a comprehensive analysis of effects of the work environment on quality of work life of LTC staff in Atlantic Canada. Clinical Trial: NA