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The Gerontologist Advance Access originally published online on April 3, 2009
The Gerontologist 2009 49(2):224-235; doi:10.1093/geront/gnp025
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

"I Get Along With Most of Them": Direct Care Workers' Relationships With Residents' Families in Assisted Living

Candace L. Kemp, PhD1,2, Mary M. Ball, PhD2, Molly M. Perkins, PhD3, Carole Hollingsworth, MA2 and Michael J. Lepore, PhD4

2 The Gerontology Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta
3 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
4 Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

1 Address correspondence to Candace L. Kemp, PhD, The Gerontology Institute, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3984, Atlanta, GA 30306-3984. E-mail: ckemp{at}gsu.edu


  Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to explore staff–family relationships in assisted living facilities (ALFs) as they are experienced by care staff and perceived by administrators. We identify factors that influence relationships and explore how interactions with residents’ families affect care staff’s caregiving experiences. Design and Methods: The data are drawn from a statewide study involving 45 ALFs in Georgia. Using grounded theory methods, we analyze qualitative data from in-depth interviews with 41 care staff and 43 administrators, and survey data from 370 care staff. Results: Care workers characterized their relationships with most family members as "good" or "pretty good" and aspired to develop relationships that offered personal and professional affirmation. The presence or absence of affirmation was central to understanding how these relationships influenced care staffs’ on-the-job experiences. Community, facility, and individual factors influenced the development of relationships and corresponding experiences. Insofar as interactions with family members were rewarding or frustrating, relationships exerted positive or negative influences on workers’ caregiving experiences. Implications: Findings suggest the need to create environments—through policy and practice—where both parties are empathetic of one another and view themselves as partners. Doing so would have positive outcomes for care workers, family members, and residents.

Keywords: Staff–family relationships, Assisted living, Caregiving, Long-term care

Received February 8, 2008; Accepted May 29, 2008

Decision Editor: Nancy Schoenberg, PhD


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