Long-Term Care Staff Quality of Work Life in Atlantic Canada (QWL-AC) 

 

Data collection completed May 31, 2024

A total of 2305 staff surveys collected

In-person Research Team Meeting at MSVU June 5th & 6th, 2025

 

An Underrepresented, Undervalued Workforce: Understanding and Supporting Quality of Work Life in Long-term Care

CIHR funded April 2023 – March 2027

WHAT

This study, An Underrepresented, Undervalued Workforce: Understanding and Supporting Quality of Work Life in Long-term Care, seeks to understand how the conditions of work in Atlantic Canadian long-term care (LTC) may affect the conditions of care of the residents. The study is assessing how work environment impacts the quality of work life (QWL) of staff in LTC and ultimately, resident quality of care outcomes in Atlantic Canada. The work extends research happening in Western Canada through the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) program.

WHO

This study is being led by Dr. Janice Keefe, Mount Saint Vincent University, and co-led by Dr. Rick Audas, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Dr. Carole Estabrooks, University of Alberta, Dr. Rose McCloskey, University of New Brunswick, and Dr. Gail Tomblin-Murphy, Dalhousie University with co-investigators from various disciplines and universities, and knowledge users and sector collaborators from across the Atlantic region. Dr. Keefe and colleagues were awarded a $2.1 million CIHR project grant in April 2023 for this multi-site study. The study is funded from April 2023- March 2027.

HOW

The research team surveyed a mix of LTC staff including care aids, nurses, allied health professionals, and managers in 53 randomly selected care homes across Atlantic Canada using established survey tools from TREC. Staff were asked questions about their physical and mental health, and key features about their work environment. Twenty-five% of eligible LTC homes in New Brunswick (NB) and Nova Scotia (NS) were recruited with Newfoundland & Labrador (NL) and Prince Edward Island (PE) over sampled to obtain a minimum of 8 LTC homes per province.

Relationships between staff QWL and resident outcomes will be examined by linking staff survey results with resident assessment data (interRAI). Linking data will help us understand if or how the working environment affects the quality of care received by LTC residents.

WHEN

This project is funded from April 2023 to March 2027. Data collection with LTC staff took place November 2023 – May 2024. InterRAI data will also be collected to be linked to staff working conditions to understand the relationship of work environment on resident quality of care. Dissemination activities for the project include publishing in academic journals, presentations at scholarly conferences, and webinars. InterRAI data will be collected and linked to staff working conditions to understand the relationship of work environment on resident quality of care.

Study Timeline:

Contacts:

Paula Richardson, Atlantic Region Project Manager
Email: arcltc@msvu.ca Telephone: 902-457-6235

Emily Hubley, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Manager/Coordinator
Email: Emily.Hubley1@msvu.ca

Jane Logan, New Brunswick Coordinator
Email: e.logan@unb.ca

Annika Wiebe, New Brunswick Coordinator
Email: annika.wiebe@msvu.ca

 

Funded by CIHR and partner funders:

 

 

 

 

Project Updates

December

· Site Feedback Report number two, summarizing descriptive results of staff responses to health and well being questions, being sent to sites this month.

November 
· Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Kazeem Adefemi, joins study team to support data analyses and dissemination activities.

· Individualized Site Feedback Reports summarizing results on quality of work life (the first in a series of three individualized site reports) being sent to participating sites this month

October
· Participant feedback infographic, summarizing final survey numbers across Atlantic Canada sent to participants and sites

September

· NB Lead, Rose McCloskey and research staff Emily Hubley and Annika Wiebe at an information table at the Aging Care and Research Symposium on September 26th in Fredericton, NB.

 

 

 

· Ethics approval for NS InerRAI work approved September 24 and submitted to the Privacy Office for review.

· Descriptive analyses begin for individualized site reports.

July & August

· Planning and preparation for the first in a series of three individualized site reports.

· Initial descriptive analysis of project data begins

· Data cleaning conducted by data management and data management committee.

 

April 

· As of mid-April, 53/54 randomly selected care homes have been recruited across Atlantic Canada.

· Principal Investigators will be meeting this month to discuss year 2 timelines and work plans

· We’re recruiting postdoctoral fellows to join our team. For more information, please see our listing <here>.

· We’re looking expand our project trainee network at all levels, if interested please contact arcltc@msvu.ca for more information.

March 

· 43/54 care homes have been recruited across Atlantic Canada

· 636 Interviews with care aides have been completed by interviewers

· 288 Online surveys have been completed by regulated staff (Nurses, Managers & Allied Health Professionals.

December 

· A full team meeting held to discuss regional LTC sector landscapes, progress on site recruitment and data collection, remaining year 1 project timeline and dissemination and knowledge translation activities.

November 

· Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators met to discuss project timelines, finalized surveys, and plans for promotion, building research capacity, and dissemination. University of New Brunswick ethics approval received and site recruitment begins in NB.

September 

· Ethics approval received from ethics Board of Record (MSVU)

June-August 

· Project submitted to ethics Board of Record (MSVU), Health PEI, and UNB

· Hiring and staff training for all Hubs

May 

· Atlantic Research Project Manager hired

 

New Brunswick HUB

April 2024

· 17/18 care homes recruited

· Data collection completed in 6 care homes

· Total surveys completed: 94 CA, 71 Regulated

March 2024

· All 6 randomly select French care homes have been recruited.

· The Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) staff surveys are being translated to French for data collection starting April/May 2024.

· Data collection completed in 3 care homes

· Total surveys completed: 94 CA, 71 Regulated

February 2024

· All 12 randomly selected English care homes have been recruited.

· Data collection completed in a total of 2 care homes.

· Total surveys completed: 34 CA, 22 Regulated

· Pre-data collection & In-person site visits are in-progress for remaining recruited homes.

· Site recruitment of 6 randomly selected French care homes begins.

January 2024

· Data collection completed in first English care home.

· Total surveys completed: 14 CA, 17 Regulated

December 2023

· First care homes recruited.

· Data collection scheduled to start January 2024.

November 2023

· Ethics Approval received from UNB.

· Site recruitment of 12 randomly selected English care homes begins.

October 2023

· Project submitted to UNB ethics for approval.

· French translation process begins for TREC staff surveys.

Newfoundland & Labrador HUB

April 2024

· Data collection starts

· All 8 homes recruited and scheduled for data collection

March 2024

· RPAC approval received

· Recruitment of the 8 randomly care homes started.

January 2024

· MUN ethics approval granted

November 2023

· Project submitted to MUN for ethics approval

 

Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island HUB

April 2024

Nova Scotia:

· 19/20 homes recruited.

· Total surveys completed: 204 CA, 110 Regulated

Prince Edward Island:

· Data collection complete in 8/8 homes

· Total surveys completed: 212 CA, 96 Regulated

March 2024

Nova Scotia:

· Data collection in 8 homes

· Total surveys completed: 204 CA, 110 Regulated

· 17/20 homes recruited.

Prince Edward Island:

· Data collection complete in 2 homes

· Total surveys completed: 212 CA, 96 Regulated

· 8/8 homes recruited

February 2024

Nova Scotia

· Data collection completed in 7 homes

· Total surveys completed: 200 CA, 99 Regulated

· 14/20 homes recruited

Prince Edward Island

· Data collection completed in 1 home

· Total surveys completed: 61 CA, 35 Regulated

· 8/8 homes recruited

January 2024

Nova Scotia

· Data collection completed in 6 homes

· Total surveys completed: 198 CA, 98 Regulated

· 14/20 homes recruited

Prince Edward Island

· 8/8 homes recruited and scheduled for data collection for March & April

December 2023

Nova Scotia

· Data collection completed in 3 homes

· Total surveys completed: 70 CA, 30 Regulated

· 14/20 homes recruited

Prince Edward Island

· 5/8 homes recruited

· Data collection scheduled to start in February

November 2023

· DC training is completed

Nova Scotia

· 12/20 homes recruited

· Total surveys completed: 22 CA, 10 Regulated

· Data collection starts in first home

· In-person site visits start

Prince Edward Island

· 2/8 homes recruited

October 

Nova Scotia

· 4/20 homes recruited

Prince Edward Island

· Ethics approval granted from Health PEI

· First PEI homes contacted for facility recruitment

Results & Dissemination

Research Team

Dr. Janice Keefe, Mount Saint Vincent University

 

Dr. Rick Audas, NLCAHR at Memorial University

Dr. Carole Estabrooks, University of Alberta

Dr. Rose McCloskey, University of New Brunswick

Dr. Gail Tomblin-Murphy, Dalhousie University

Dr. Marilyn Hodgins, University of New Brunswick

Dr. Adrian MacKenzie, Nova Scotia Department of Health & Wellness

Dr. Caitlin McArthur, Dalhousie University

Dr. Kathleen Norman, Nova Scotia Health

Dr. Lori Weeks, Dalhousie University

Dr. Robert Wilson, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Kelli O’Brien, Newfoundland & Labrador Health Services

NS Health, PEI Health, NL Health & Community Services, NL Eastern Health, NS Seniors & LTC, NS Department of Health and Wellness, Nursing Homes of Nova Scotia Association, New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes, PEI Long-Term Care Trainees

Kazeem Adefemi, Postdoctoral Fellow, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Liam Bennet, Research Assistant Dalhousie University

Caleb D’entremont, Master Student, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Amber Duynisveld, Master Student, Mount Saint Vincent University

Isaiah Hipel, PhD Candidate Saint Mary’s University

Kayla MacLeod, Master Student, University of New Brunswick

Paula Richardson, Atlantic Region Manager, Mount Saint Vincent University

Emily Hubley, Manager\Coordinator, Mount Saint Vincent University

Jane Logan, NB Coordinator, University of New Brunswick

Annika Wiebe, NB Coordinator/NS Research Assistant, Mount Saint Vincent University