La percezione di caregiving degli operatori socio-sanitari in servizio nelle strutture residenziali per anziani

Background. HealthCare Assistant (HCA) has a key-role in nursing homes in terms of care. HCA satisfies basic human needs, but also well-being’s and autonomy’s requests of institutionalized elderly people. The HCA is, furthermore, the professional more in contact with older adults (2-12 users in charge). Recently, Italian Health Department replaced previous qualifications with the HCA, clarifying functions, competences and required knowledge. Aims. The present study aims to investigate health and social personnel’s caregiving, through the development of a self-report instrument. Different caregiving styles were expected according to different attachment styles. Further investigations have the purpose to identify predictors of a user-centered and/or objectifying caregiving style. Methods. In the first phase, both quantitative and qualitative methodology were used to get feedback and suggestions from respondents (29 HCA) relating to the new scale. In a second phase, a quantitative method was used to reach a vast number of HCA (312), administrating a self-report questionnaire. Results. Two opposite caregiving’s dimensions emerged from the developed instrument: on the one side, a patient-centered dimension and, on the other side, a patient’ dignity denial component. The user-centered care is determined by compassion, the attribution of human nature traits, more time spent having an interaction with elderly and less depersonalization. An objectifying care is derived from attachment anxiety, less time dedicated to relationship and a high level of emotional exhaustion. In secure HCA, a good quality of care is determined by compassion and more time dedicated to relationship with users; among insecure HCA, a good care is determined by compassion and less burnout. Conclusion. Results suggest that attachment styles influence the quality of formal care. Specific training courses could be realized in order to help HCA to provide a good care in accordance with individual attachment style.