“We Work in an Industry Where We’re Here to Care for Others, and Often Forget to Take Care of Ourselves”: Aged-Care Staff Views on Self-Care

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore self-care understanding and behaviours among aged-care workers in Australia. It was conducted as part of a project to co-produce a self-care resource for the Australian aged-care workforce. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with eleven aged-care staff and a focus group with four staff at an aged-care facility were undertaken to understand how staff understand and practice self-care and how death and dying affect workers. Thematic analysis was performed using software to generate a data coding tree. Results: Aged-care workers view self-care as taking care of oneself and as being a way to manage and maintain wellbeing so that they can continue to care. As practiced in daily life, self-care is highly individualised, with actions at work and at home having significant impact on a person’s wellbeing. Supportive organisational cultures and collegial teams were found to be particularly relevant in helping staff to deal with death and dying. Conclusions: Aged-care workers may benefit from an online self-care resource tailored to their specific needs and based on their first-hand experiences of working in aged-care. Organisations can support aged-care workers by creating space and time for self-care.

Keywords

• self-care
• residential aged-care facility
• terminal care