ENHANCING WORK EFFICACY OF SKILLED NURSING ASSISTANTS

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term care industry faces a staffing crisis that threatens quality of care for elderly nursing home (NH) residents nationwide. This research addresses that problem by developing a feasible intervention to enhance work-related efficacy (perceived control) among nursing assistants (NAs). Presumably, NAs who feel able proactively to manage the demands of their jobs will respond more positively and effectively. This should translate to reduced turnover, improved job performance and, as a result, improved functional health and quality of life for elderly nursing home residents. This project will therefore develop a multifaceted intervention to enhance NAs' work-related efficacy. Specific aims are: (1a) to use NAs' own input to develop content for an efficacy-enhancing intervention targeting basic knowledge of care of the aged, strategies for dealing with work demands, and interpersonal skills for interacting with coworkers, supervisors, and residents; (1b) to develop a complementary intervention aimed at sensitizing registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPNs) to how their own attitudes and behaviors influence NAs' motiva- tion and performance, and teaching supervisory skills designed to enhance NAs' work efficacy; (2) to select, develop and test outcome measures to evaluate intervention effectiveness, and (3) to conduct a limited field test of a prototype intervention. These aims will be pursued in a 2-year developmental research project comprising 4 main activities: content generation through qualitative and quantitative data gathering with direct care staff, management, and consumers in diverse Georgia NHs; selection and/or development of self-report and observational outcome measures; intervention development, yielding manuals and materials for coordinated prototype interventions for NAs and professional nursing staff, and a field test to ensure feasibility and garner feedback for fine-tuning the intervention as a grant application is prepared for full-scale implementation and evaluation.