Understanding trauma in the context of direct care work in nursing homes

Understanding trauma in the context of direct care work in nursing homes
Journal of Applied Gerontology; by Alfred Boakye, Jennifer Craft Morgan, Candace L. Kemp, Antonius D. Skipper; 8/25
Direct care workers (DCWs) experience job quality challenges such as heavy workload, low pay, and few benefits. Layered risks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and systemic racism have impacted DCWs, made them more vulnerable, and increased turnover and the precarity of the long-term care system and residents’ care. Findings suggest that DCWs are often crippled with challenges stemming from the impact of COVID-19, work-related factors, and personal factors. Understanding the intersection of trauma provides a detailed contextual description of care work, which is important for developing practical coping strategies, either at the personal or organizational levels, and developing more refined trauma-informed initiatives to build resilience and support DCWs.