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Grief and Loss During Care Transitions: Experiences of Direct Care Workers

Stephanie P Wladkowski1, Nancy Kusmaul2, Abigail Latimer3

  • 1School of Social Work, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States.

Omega
|August 6, 2021
PubMed

Direct Care Workers (DCW) provide both personal care to patients and emotional support to patients and caregivers in hospice and palliative care. DCWs often develop close ties and are then expected to work with new clients immediately following a care transition, with little or no time to grieve. A qualitative pilot study (n = 24) was conducted to explore the experience of DCWs during care transitions. Data was collected via focus groups and individual interviews. Thematic analysis was used. Results suggest DCWs managed their experiences (n = 19), by anticipating and accepting grief and loss (n = 21), employing personal coping strategies (n = 19), and saying good-bye (n = 15). Relational factors impacted the experience of care transitions (n = 22), including building and maintaining the relationship (n = 14), and the strength of perceived connections (n = 15). Increased organizational support and training to help address grief and loss will better support DCWs and the direct care workforce.

Keywords:
care transitionsdirect care workersgriefhome healthlow wage workers

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