Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Karlsson, Nicole D
• Markkanen, Pia K
• Kriebel, David
• Gore, Rebecca J
• Galligan, Catherine J
• Sama, Susan R
• Quinn, Margaret M

Titel

Home care aides’ experiences of verbal abuse: a survey of characteristics and risk factors

Ist Teil von

• Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England), 2019-07, Vol.76 (7), p.448-454

Ort / Verlag

England: BMJ

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• ObjectiveViolence from care recipients and family members, including both verbal and physical abuse, is a serious occupational hazard for healthcare and social assistance workers. Most workplace violence studies in this sector focus on hospitals and other institutional settings. This study examined verbal abuse in a large home care (HC) aide population and evaluated risk factors.MethodsWe used questionnaire survey data collected as part of a larger mixed methods study of a range of working conditions among HC aides. This paper focuses on survey responses of HC aides (n=954) who reported on verbal abuse from non-family clients and their family members. Risk factors were identified in univariate and multivariable analyses.ResultsTwenty-two per cent (n=206) of aides reported at least one incident of verbal abuse in the 12 months before the survey. Three factors were found to be important in multivariable models: clients with dementia (relative risk (RR) 1.38, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.78), homes with too little space for the aide to work (RR 1.52, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.97) and predictable work hours (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.94); two additional factors were associated with verbal abuse, although not as strongly: having clients with limited mobility (RR 1.35, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.93) and an unclear plan for care delivery (RR 1.27, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.69). Aides reporting verbal abuse were 11 times as likely to also report physical abuse (RR 11.53; 95% CI 6.84 to 19.45).ConclusionsVerbal abuse is common among HC aides. These findings suggest specific changes in work organisation and training that may help reduce verbal abuse.