Types and patterns of safety concerns in home care: staff perspectives

Abstract

Background: Quality health care in the home is dependent on having a safe environment to provide care. This analysis is based on the data from a larger study aimed at understanding key issues in the delivery and receipt of home support services from the perspectives of home support workers (HSWs), older adult clients and family members. This analysis focuses on HSWs perspectives of safety.

Objective: To explore the types and patterns of safety concerns staff encountered in home care settings.

Design: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with HSWs. The analysis included topic and analytical coding of workers' verbatim accounts.

Setting: Interviews were completed in British Columbia, Canada.

Participants: A total of 115 HSWs participated. The average age was 50 years, and the average tenure in this sector was 11.5 years. Fully, 71% of workers had completed at least some college-level education, and 69% of workers were born outside of Canada.

Results: Workers identified four types of safety concerns: physical, spatial, interpersonal and temporal. We developed a conceptual model of HSW safety that demonstrates the: types of safety concerns; the multi-dimensional and intersectional nature of safety concerns and the factors that intensify or mitigate safety concerns.

Conclusions: Our study identifies numerous HSW safety concerns, each requiring tailored interventions and strategies. Where multiple concerns intersect, the complexity and precarious nature of the home care workspace is revealed. The identification of mitigating and intensifying factors points to future interventions.