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Strategies Used by Home Support Workers in the Delivery of Care to Elderly Clients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2010

Joanie Sims-Gould  and
Anne Martin-Matthews
Joanie Sims-Gould*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Anne Martin-Matthews
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
*
*Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to / La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Joanie Sims-Gould Ph.D., RSW, Department of Sociology, 6303 NW Marine Drive, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1 (simsg@interchange.ubc.ca)
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Abstract

An estimated 36,000 home support workers assist older Canadians annually with daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and light housework, yet home support workers’ day-to-day experiences are not well understood. Mahmood and Martin-Matthews (2008) have developed a model that locates the home support worker, elderly client, and family member at the intersection of the public and private spheres framed by their social, spatial, temporal, and organizational features. This study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, examines and refines that model through an analysis of in-depth interviews with home support workers in British Columbia. Home support workers identify key issues in service delivery and discuss a range of creative solutions to complete their daily tasks efficiently, effectively, and respectfully. The study’s findings inform our understanding of home support workers’ job experiences; they also highlight those qualities that characterize exceptional workers in navigating the various domains of home support.

Résumé

On estime que 36,000 travailleurs de soutien à domicile aident les anciens canadiens chaque année avec les activités quotidiennes, comme la baignade, l’habillement, le nettoyage et les travaux ménagers légers, mais les expériences quotidiennes des travailleurs qui donnent soutien à domicile ne sont pas bien encore compris. Mahmood et Martin-Matthews (2008) ont développé un modèle qui localise le travailleur de soutien à domicile, le client âgée et la membre de la famille à l’intersection des sphères privées et publiques encadré par leur traits sociaux, spatials et temporels, et par la structure organisationnelle de l’entreprise. Cette étude, financée par Les Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada, examine et affine ce modèle grâce à une analyse des entrevues approfondies avec les travailleurs de soutien à domicile en la Colombie-Britannique. Travailleurs de soutien à domicile identifient les questions clés dans la prestation des services et discutent une gamme de solutions créatives pour effectuer leurs tâches quoti-diennes et avec de la déférence. Les conclusions de l’étude informent notre compréhension des expériences de travail des travailleurs de soutien à domicile; également ils mettent en évidence les qualités qui caractérisent les travailleurs exceptionnelles en naviguant parmi les différents domaines de soutien à domicile.

Keywords

soutien à domiciletravailleurs de soutien à domicileanciens clients de soutien à domicilesoins de santé à domicilehome supporthome support workersolder home support clientshome health care delivery
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 29 , Issue 1: Special Issue from the Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Project (SEDAP) – Caring for an Aging Population: Context, Practice & Policy , March 2010 , pp. 97 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2010

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