The evolving role of the personal support worker in home care in Ontario, Canada
| Autor: | Margaret Saari, Erin Patterson, Ann E. Tourangeau, Shawna Kelly |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Sociology and Political Science
Population Specialty 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Support worker Nursing Nursing Assistants Health care Medicine Humans Service user 030212 general & internal medicine education Competence (human resources) Quality of Health Care Ontario education.field_of_study 030504 nursing business.industry Health Policy Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Core competency Home Care Services Workforce 0305 other medical science business Social Sciences (miscellaneous) Ontario canada |
| Zdroj: | Healthsocial care in the community. 26(2) |
| ISSN: | 1365-2524 |
| Popis: | To meet increasing demand for home care, the role of personal support workers (PSWs) is shifting from providing primarily personal and supportive care to include care activities previously provided by regulated health professionals (RHPs). Much of the research examining this shift focuses on specialty programmes, with few studies investigating the daily care being provided by PSWs, frequency of care activities being provided by PSWs, and characteristics of the population receiving more complex tasks. Between January and April 2015, a review of 517 home-care service user charts was undertaken in Ontario, Canada, to: (1) describe the range of tasks being performed by PSWs in home care, (2) identify tasks transferred by RHPs to PSWs, and (3) examine characteristics of service users receiving transferred care. Findings indicate that normally, PSWs provide personal and supportive care commensurate with their training. However, in approximately one quarter of care plans reviewed, PSWs also completed more complex care activities transferred to them by RHPs. Service users receiving transferred care were older and had higher levels of cognitive and functional impairment. Although there is potential for the expansion of home-care services through increased utilisation of PSWs, healthcare leadership must ensure that the right provider is being utilised at the right time and in the right place to ensure safe and effective quality care. Thus, several actions are recommended: PSW core competencies be clearly articulated, processes used to transfer care activities from RHPs to PSWs be standardised and a team-based approach to the delivery of home-care services be considered. Utilisation of a team-based model can help establish positive relationships among home-care providers, provide increased support for PSWs, allow for easier scheduling of initial training and ensure regular reassessments of PSW competence among PSWs providing added skills. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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