Work-Life Perceptions of Danish Personal Care Assistants Working in the Home Mechanical Ventilation Setting-A Survey...

Working as a personal care assistant (PCA) in the homes of mechanical ventilation users can be challenging due to the job's complexity. Research indicates that a poor work environment among PCAs could lead to risks of resignations and a high staff turnover, potentially affecting healthcare quality in home mechanical ventilation (HMV) setups.

To explore work-life perceptions of Danish PCAs working in HMV settings, with a specific focus on communication quality, physical and psychological work environment and the PCA training programme.

PCAs affiliated with a respiratory centre in Denmark were surveyed via an online questionnaire between June and September 2022. Quantitative data from 460 PCAs were analysed using descriptive statistics, whereas qualitative data from free-text responses was examined through content analysis. The Consensus-Based Checklist for Reporting of Survey Studies (CROSS) was used as a guideline.

PCAs generally rated their work-life positively. Qualitative findings revealed challenges in communication and collaboration with the HMV users and their families and formal actors from whom PCAs sought support. Working alone, combined with a strong sense of responsibility for the needs of users and their families, imposed a significant mental burden on PCAs, further exacerbated by the fact that they felt left to themselves in challenging situations. Although PCAs expressed overall satisfaction with training in respiratory care and monitoring, they highlighted the need for a more comprehensive training programme to better equip them for their roles.

PCAs experienced a strong sense of responsibility for providing high-quality healthcare for HMV users and their families, which mentally burdened them. They emphasised the need for improved organisational support and training to effectively manage the diverse and complex situations they encountered in the home setting.