Repository logo

Browsing by Author "Buchan, Vicky, advisor"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Combating employee burnout in long-term care
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Ferrara, Katherine, author; Morgan, George, advisor; Buchan, Vicky, advisor; Quijano, Louise, committee member; Kaiser, Leann, committee member
    Employee burnout in long-term care is a growing concern due to the changing demographics of individuals admitted to nursing homes in the United States. There is an increase in the number of admissions to nursing homes that include residents with dementia or some form of major mental illness. In addition to having some form of mental disorder, over half of these individuals also have some type of challenging behavior such as verbal or physical aggression. In spite of these changing demographics, there is a lack of adequate training for staff in these settings to care for this population. Lack of training and poor stress management coping skills can contribute to burnout. Burnout can have detrimental effects on the organization, the individual and the residents served in nursing homes. An eight session skills based intervention derived from the Cognitive-Behavioral therapeutic foundation was designed to educate employees on stress management skills and skills to effectively manage challenging resident behaviors. The skills based intervention was implemented in eight sessions to three different nursing homes that had a minimum of a 40% resident population with some form of mental disorder as a diagnosis. This study used a pretest/posttest comparison group design. Change scores on the data collection instruments were analyzed to determine the effect of the intervention on employee level of burnout as well as level of knowledge of behavior management techniques, for the intervention group only. Results indicated no statistically significant difference between the experimental and comparison group on change scores pertaining to level of burnout. There was, however, a significant gain in knowledge of behavior management techniques from pre to post intervention. Other constructs measured that are considered characteristics of burnout included tardiness and absenteeism. There was significant decrease in frequency of absenteeism comparing pre to post intervention in the experimental group. There was no significant change from pre to post intervention in the area of tardiness. A participant evaluation was administered to experimental group participants. Results of a participant evaluation indicated participants had a positive experience with the intervention. Participants felt an increase in level of support from co-workers and increase of knowledge on how to effectively care for residents with challenging behaviors. The length of time of the intervention may have been too short to achieve the desired results of a significant decrease of level of burnout from pre to post intervention. Evaluations revealed the majority of participants would have liked more time for the intervention. Also, vicarious trauma was not a consideration for the development of the intervention or as a contributing factor to burnout in the participants of this study. The majority of participants in the experimental group were classified as non-direct care staff, included members of the activities, social services and business office. It is recommended to include vicarious trauma as a contributing factor of burnout and to include interventions to combat vicarious trauma in future studies. It is further recommended for future studies to have the length of time of the intervention increased to greater than eight sessions. A final recommendation would be to limit participants to both the experimental and comparison groups to those who are classified as direct care staff.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Selection of social work as an academic major among male and female undergraduate baccalaureate students
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Rogers, LaTra Tracy, author; Morgan, George, advisor; Buchan, Vicky, advisor
    The purpose of this research was two-fold. First, this research used a questionnaire to identify factors impacting female and male undergraduate students' motivations for selection of and experiences within the social work major. Second, this research seeks to further investigate the experiences of male BSW students in a female dominated major. There were 166 participants, 141 females and 23 males from two undergraduate social work programs in Colorado who completed a 32-item questionnaire that was divided into three parts: motivations, experiences, and demographics. Hanson and McCullagh (1995) identified two factors from 12 items about motivation to select a social work program. Factor 1 was labeled Service to Others and Factor 2 was labeled Job Self Interest. Students in the current study rated the Service to Others items higher than Job Self Interest items, and females rated the Service to Others scale as more important motivators than did males. The findings of the study revealed that there were three motivation differences based on gender, two motivation differences based on age, and one motivation difference based on marital status. There were four experience differences found based on grade level, three experience differences based on Prior Exposure to a Social Worker, and one experience differences based on ethnicity. Having experienced a psychosocial crisis was not rated as an important motivator to select the major, but males, older students, married students, and those with no prior exposure to a social worker were more likely to rate it as an important motivator than were females, younger, and unmarried students. There were few differences in experiences during the major based on demographics. In conclusion, both female and male participants in this study have shed light on key motivation and experience factors impacting female and male undergraduate selection of and experiences within the social work major. The male participants who were involved in the follow-up interviews and offered their personal reflections, have helped to shed insight on male experiences within social work and how the profession can attract more males into social work programs.