Culture Shock: Exploring Ethnicity in the Nursing Home

拟议的试点研究包括与方案公告中列出的以下主题领域相关的研究：#3（种族/民族差异）和#23（老年人护理）。 在有报告称由于护理和辅助专业人员短缺，养老院的生活质量下降之后，提出了新的倡议，以提高养老院的工作人员水平。 据记载，认证护理助理（CNA）面临着一系列的挑战，降低工作满意度，增加营业额，因此，对老年人护理的连续性和质量产生不利影响。 在尽可能多的CNA是少数民族和移民工人，一个问题，还没有被研究在养老院的种族多样性对工作满意度和保留的CNA的潜在影响。拟议的试点研究是创新的，它采取了第一步，探索种族关系的护理环境中，特别是不同层次的护理人员，护理主管和CNA，以及这些关系如何影响工作满意度和保留前线护理工作者。 拟议的项目包括制定和实施焦点小组与颜色和护理主管CNA在疗养院设置在马萨诸塞州，以增加对文化和种族问题的理解和/或CNA和护理主管之间的冲突。 此外，它探讨了这些问题可能对工作满意度和保留的准专业人员的劳动力的影响。将分析焦点小组讨论的记录，以确定重复出现的主题。 在这个试点项目完成后，将提交一个更大的建议，根据这些专业人员确定的需求，为CNA和护理主管制定一个培训方案。第二阶段的建议还将在国家一级对培训方案进行系统评估。

The proposed pilot study consists of research relevant to the following topic areas listed in the Program Announcement: #3 (Racial/Ethnic Differences) and #23 (Care for Older People). New initiatives have been proposed to raise staffing levels in nursing homes, after reports of lower quality of life in these institution due to nursing and paraprofessional shortage. It is well documented that certified nursing assistants (CNAs) face a series of challenges that decrease job satisfaction, increase turnover and therefore, adversely affect continuity and quality of care for the elderly. In as much as a significant number of CNAs are minority and immigrant worker, one issue that has not been studied in nursing homes is the potential impact of ethnic diversity on job satisfaction and retention of CNAs. The proposed pilot study is innovative in that it takes a first step toward exploring racial relation in the nursing home environment, particularly among different levels of the nursing staff-nursing supervisors and CNAs and how those relationships affect job satisfaction and retention of frontline nursing home workers. The proposed project includes the development and implementation of focus groups with CNAs of color and nursing supervisors in nursing home settings in Massachusetts with goal of increasing the understanding of cultural and ethnic issues and/or conflicts among CNAs and nursing supervisors. Further, it explores what impact these issues may have on job satisfaction and retention of the paraprofessional workforce. Transcription of the focus group discussions will be analyzed to identify recurrent themes. At the completion of this pilot project, a larger proposal will be submitted to develop a training program for CNAs and nursing supervisor based on the needs identified by these professionals. The second phase proposal also will conduct a systematic assessment of the training program at a national level.