Sponsor
This research was funded by a contract from the Oregon Home Care Commission, contract 153808, the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, a Total Worker Health® Center of Excellence funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (grant number U19OH010154), as well as the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University via funds from the Division of Consumer and Business Services of the State of Oregon (ORS 656.630).
Published In
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Subjects
Personal Support Workers -- Case Studies, Health Care Delivery
Abstract
Personal support workers (PSW) are caregivers for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) or adults experiencing mental illness or other behavioral health conditions. The work can be very meaningful, but many PSWs must prepare for, monitor, and manage challenging behaviors, including aggression. This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of aggression experienced by PSWs in Oregon, and compare it to a previous sample of Oregon home care workers (HCWs). This comparison included an analysis of relationships between exposures to aggression and psychological health factors. PSWs in Oregon (N = 240) were surveyed electronically at a single time point. PSWs generally reported higher rates of exposure to aggression compared to HCWs. Experiences with aggression were positively associated with fatigue and weakly associated with depression, but not stress. PSWs’ self-reported lost work time injury rate was elevated compared to the US average, but it was comparable to previous self-reported injury rates from HCWs. Physical demands of work were the most prevalent reported primary safety concern, followed by challenging behaviors (including aggression). Developing tailored training to help PSWs understand, plan for, minimize, and manage challenging behaviors is a social priority.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.3390/ijerph17155486
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/33698
Citation Details
Womack, K. N., Alvord, T. W., Trullinger-Dwyer, C. F., Rice, S. P., & Olson, R. (2020). Challenging Aggressive Behaviors Experienced by Personal Support Workers in Comparison to Home Care Workers: Relationships between Caregiver Experiences and Psychological Health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(15), 5486.
Description
Copyright (c) 2020 The Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.