10.00
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15.30
Drammen, rom A5508 and Zoom
Hilde H. Midje is defending her thesis for the degree philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of South-Eastern Norway.
She has completed the PhD programme in Person-centred health care. The doctoral work has been carried out at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences.
Both the trial lecture and the PhD defence are open to the public.
Summary
The "silver tsunami" refers to a rapidly growing ageing population and concerns the economic and societal challenges that follow. The thesis is about how to meet the increased needs for long-term eldercare services with sufficient and qualified staff.
In healthcare, work engagement is found to be associated with improved employee health and well-being, work productivity and effectiveness, reduced employee turnover intentions, and improved quality of care services and user satisfaction. The findings of the thesis indicate that the working environment and work engagement of nursing home staff can play a role in ensuring high-quality person-centred health and care services for older people.
To provide person-centred care, employees must be able to engage authentically, be sympathetically and attentive present, and committed to their job. The interview study included in the thesis shows that elevated mental, cognitive, and physical capacity from work engagement can play a role in developing person-centred health and care services in nursing homes. The questionnaire study included shows that working environment conditions such as meaningful work, development opportunities, job autonomy, and supportive relationships between colleagues are relevant antecedents of nursing home staff’s work engagement. The systematic review included in the thesis shows that the most investigated antecedents and outcomes of work engagement in this working context are, respectively, 1) social support and learning and development opportunities, and 2) person-centred processes in provision of care services. However, this study reveals that the evidence base regarding antecedents and outcomes of work engagement among nursing staff in nursing homes is ambiguous and sparse and thus does not provide a basis for drawing firm conclusions.