Resident-centered care and work satisfaction of health care aides working with personal care home residents living with dementia

Abstract

Resident-centered care has been the standard philosophy in accredited personal care homes (PCHs) across Canada since 1990. Health care aides (HCAs) are the primary health care providers in PCHs and key to residents' quality of care and quality of life. However, studies have not examined HCA work satisfaction in relation to the four elements of resident-centered care: providing flexible scheduling, following residents' preferences, promoting a home-like environment and offering permanent assignment to promote consistency of care. This cross-sectional, ethnographic study was conducted using face-to-face interviews with nine HCAs working in four PCHs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The results indicate that HCAs' work satisfaction was highly related to their caring relationships with residents and their working relationships with other HCAs and staff. The implementation of resident-centered care depended on institutional and managerial support. Lack of this support created stressful situations for HCAs and caused them concern about the quality of care and quality of life of residents.