Well-being and self-assessed health among different groups of female personnel in geriatric care

Abstract

Educational qualifications are reliable predictors of women's self-assessed health.

Aims: To study possible inequalities in health among women with different educational backgrounds working in geriatric care and to find groups that might need special public health measures.

Methods: In this cross-sectional questionnaire reaching throughout Iceland, the participants were employees in 62 geriatric nursing homes and geriatric hospital wards with 10 or more employees. A total of 1,886 questionnaires were distributed. The 84-item questionnaire included questions on demographic and work-related factors, health and life style. Age-adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated for work-related psychosocial, physical and health factors, and confidence intervals were set at 95% (95% CI). Registered nurses were taken as a reference category.

Results: The response rate was 80%. Registered nurses accounted for 16%, practical nurses 21%, unskilled attendants 44%, cleaning personnel 8% and others 12%. The practical nurses, unskilled attendants and cleaning personnel assessed work as more physically difficult, and more monotonous both physically and mentally, than did the registered nurses, who enjoyed more physical and mental well-being than the others. However, the registered nurses visited doctors as often as the other groups did.

Conclusions: Personnel groups in geriatric care have different physical and psychosocial workloads. The results provide opportunities to guide public health measures for people employed in geriatric care and possibly in other settings, such as hospitals and health care institutions.