Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Organizational support experiences of care home and home care staff in sweden, italy, germany and the united kingdom during the covid-19 pandemic

Lethin, Connie LU orcid ; Kenkmann, Andrea ; Chiatti, Carlos ; Christensen, Jonas ; Backhouse, Tamara ; Killett, Anne ; Fisher, Oliver and Malmgren Fänge, Agneta LU orcid (2021) In Healthcare 9(6).
Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected care workers all over the globe, as older and more vulnerable people face a high risk of developing severe symptoms and dying from the virus infection. The aim of this study was to compare staff experiences of stress and anxiety as well as internal and external organizational support in Sweden, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) in order to determine how care staff were affected by the pandemic. A 29-item online questionnaire was used to collect data from care staff respondents: management (n = 136), nurses (n = 132), nursing assistants (n = 195), and other healthcare staff working in these organizations (n = 132). Stress and anxiety levels were highest in the UK and Germany, with Swedish... (More)

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected care workers all over the globe, as older and more vulnerable people face a high risk of developing severe symptoms and dying from the virus infection. The aim of this study was to compare staff experiences of stress and anxiety as well as internal and external organizational support in Sweden, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) in order to determine how care staff were affected by the pandemic. A 29-item online questionnaire was used to collect data from care staff respondents: management (n = 136), nurses (n = 132), nursing assistants (n = 195), and other healthcare staff working in these organizations (n = 132). Stress and anxiety levels were highest in the UK and Germany, with Swedish staff showing the least stress. Internal and external support only partially explain the outcomes. Striking discrepancies between different staff groups’ assessment of organizational support as well as a lack of staff voice in the UK and Germany could be key factors in understanding staff’s stress levels during the pandemic. Structural, political, cultural, and economic factors play a significant role, not only factors within the care organization or in the immediate context.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Care home, COVID-19, Home care, Organizational support, Staff experience, Survey
in
Healthcare
volume
9
issue
6
article number
767
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • pmid:34205430
  • scopus:85109108688
ISSN
2227-9032
DOI
10.3390/healthcare9060767
project
Home care staff's perspective on organization and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic - lessons from four European countries
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f6d6815d-b407-4cf2-a529-0025dcb1596b
date added to LUP
2021-08-13 08:04:17
date last changed
2024-06-15 14:09:13
@article{f6d6815d-b407-4cf2-a529-0025dcb1596b,
  abstract     = {{<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has affected care workers all over the globe, as older and more vulnerable people face a high risk of developing severe symptoms and dying from the virus infection. The aim of this study was to compare staff experiences of stress and anxiety as well as internal and external organizational support in Sweden, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) in order to determine how care staff were affected by the pandemic. A 29-item online questionnaire was used to collect data from care staff respondents: management (n = 136), nurses (n = 132), nursing assistants (n = 195), and other healthcare staff working in these organizations (n = 132). Stress and anxiety levels were highest in the UK and Germany, with Swedish staff showing the least stress. Internal and external support only partially explain the outcomes. Striking discrepancies between different staff groups’ assessment of organizational support as well as a lack of staff voice in the UK and Germany could be key factors in understanding staff’s stress levels during the pandemic. Structural, political, cultural, and economic factors play a significant role, not only factors within the care organization or in the immediate context.</p>}},
  author       = {{Lethin, Connie and Kenkmann, Andrea and Chiatti, Carlos and Christensen, Jonas and Backhouse, Tamara and Killett, Anne and Fisher, Oliver and Malmgren Fänge, Agneta}},
  issn         = {{2227-9032}},
  keywords     = {{Care home; COVID-19; Home care; Organizational support; Staff experience; Survey}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Healthcare}},
  title        = {{Organizational support experiences of care home and home care staff in sweden, italy, germany and the united kingdom during the covid-19 pandemic}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9060767}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/healthcare9060767}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}