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Staff factors associated with perception of behaviour as 'challenging' in residential and nursing homes

Moniz-Cook, E.; Woods, R.; Gardiner, E.

Authors

Profile image of Esme Moniz-Cook

Professor Esme Moniz-Cook E.D.Moniz-Cook@hull.ac.uk
Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology of Ageing and Dementia Care Research / Dementia Research Work Group Lead

R. Woods

E. Gardiner



Contributors

Martin Orrell
Editor

Aimee Spector
Editor

Abstract

Opening paragraph:
The extensive literature on stress and caregiving in dementia focused, until the mid-1990s, on the experiences of family carers. Since then, studies in North America have suggested that the factors that contribute to stress and burnout in staff working in residential and day care settings include the shift (Novak & Chappell, 1996), working conditions (Wilber & Specht, 1994), social support (Chappell & Novak, 1992), staff appraisal (Novak & Chappell, 1994) and uncooperative or difficult behaviour (Chappell & Novak, 1994). In the UK, staff stress and/or burnout have been linked with resident aggression (MacPherson et al., 1994), organisational aspects of the work setting (Baillon et al., 1996) and the quality of staff interactions with the residents that they care for (Jenkins & Allen, 1998). The contribution of difficult, uncooperative or aggressive resident behaviour to staff distress parallels the family caregiving literature, where some studies argue strongly that behaviour disturbance or ‘non-cognitive features’, which we refer to as ‘challenging behaviour’, predict carer stress (see, for example, Donaldson et al., 1998). However, the relationship between resident behaviour and staff distress is complex, since the majority of difficult and uncooperative behaviour is predictable, not necessarily intrinsic to the resident, appears to occur during a self-care activity such as dressing or bathing (Beck et al., 1990; Burgener et al., 1992) and can be minimised if the caregiver remains relaxed and smiling (Burgener et al., 1992). Of perhaps more interest is the observation that problematic behaviour in a given resident is often perceived differently by different staff and its impact on different staff can also differ widely (Everitt et al., 1991). The emerging opinion is that the training of care staff is important (Baillon et al., 1996) and should be aimed at helping them work with residents (Chappell & Novak, 1994) or at altering their appraisal of the residents’ behaviour (Novak & Chappell, 1994).

Citation

Moniz-Cook, E., Woods, R., & Gardiner, E. (2009). Staff factors associated with perception of behaviour as 'challenging' in residential and nursing homes. In M. Orrell, & A. Spector (Eds.), Psychology of Aging (237-244). Ashgate

Online Publication Date Mar 2, 2017
Publication Date Nov 16, 2009
Deposit Date Mar 25, 2023
Publisher Ashgate
Pages 237-244
Series Title The International Library of Psychology
Book Title Psychology of Aging
Chapter Number 19
ISBN 9781351907859; 9780754627890
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4249222
Publisher URL https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315245706/psychology-aging-martin-orrell-aimee-spector
Additional Information Originally published as a journal article in Aging & Mental Health, v.4, 2000, pp.48-55