Ethical issues in long-term care settings: Care workers' lived experiences

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Ethics in Healthcare
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Professional care workers in long-term care settings (LTCS) confront significant ethical challenges.
• These challenges are exacerbated by resource limitations, workforce shortages, societal changes, and the often-negative perception of LTCS work.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore and describe the lived experiences of care workers regarding ethical issues in LTCS.
• To provide insights for improving care quality, occupational well-being, and nursing education.

Main Methods:

• A hermeneutic-phenomenological approach was employed.
• Data were collected through focus group interviews with 53 care workers from seven organizations in Finland in 2021.
• Analysis involved naïve reading, structural analysis, and comprehensive understanding.

Main Results:

• Care workers described their ethical experiences emotionally, highlighting their expertise in resident care and advocacy.
• They expressed that many ethical issues were too complex to resolve individually, requiring broader organizational and societal commitment.
• Participants identified environmental and practice-related factors causing strain, necessitating systemic solutions.

Conclusions:

• Ethical issues in LTCS impact both resident and care worker well-being, stemming from internal and external pressures.
• Individual care workers cannot solely resolve these complex ethical dilemmas; managerial, organizational, and societal input is crucial.