Challenging Aggressive Behaviors Experienced by Personal Support Workers in Comparison to Home Care Workers: Relationships Between Caregiver Experiences and Psychological Health

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alvord TW ; Olson, Ryan ; Rice SPM ; Trullinger-Dwyer CF ; Womack KN
• Description:
  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. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Environmental Exposure Home Care Services Mental Health Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Violence Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Caregivers Challenging Behaviors Exposure Levels Home Care Workers Home Health Care Injuries Occupational Health Occupational Safety Personal Services Industry Personal Support Workers Physical Stress Physiology Psychological Disorders Psychology Psychosocial Factors Risk Factors Total Worker Health TWH Work Environment Workers Workplace Aggression Workplace Violence

  More +
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  17
• Issue:
  15
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060556
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Aug; 17(15):5486
• Contact Point Address:
  Ryan Olson, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR 97239
• Email:
  olsonry@ohsu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services ; Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities
• Performing Organization:
  Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20110901
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:71f74a71f0e21c0c4672c46ba3357980d62b6e70f235ccd4ead8b3b472633e5643eb14bdec1743f679c0f52a38718a7da6fc5c7ae6442b02ce2c51324d27abc8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224422/cdc_224422_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 320.15 KB ]