Dr. Hemsworth presenting internationally
Recently, Dr. David Hemsworth, of the School of Business, presented four articles at conferences in Portugal and Spain.
He presented two articles at the 12th congress of European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC). This is recognized as a highly prestigious conference. Only 10 per cent of the submitted presentations are accepted and the conference is attended by more than 400 delegates.
Hemsworth also presented one paper at the International Academy for Business and Economics (IABE) that has already been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Business Research; and one paper at the Barcelona European Health Sciences Conference that won the best paper award.
Following are descriptions of Dr. Hemsworth’s presentations and the conferences:
12th congress of European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC)
How can we help them cope? A structural model to examination of the mediation effects of culture on work group stress, burnout, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction in palliative care professionals.
Abstract
Background: This study focuses on establishing Canadian baseline information on the palliative care workforce and their work, including factors that foster a positive response in the face of constant exposure to grief and bereavement. There is a paucity of research that looks into ways to increase positive while reducing the negative effects of this demanding work setting. This research is unique in that it shows how supportive healthcare professionals’ and patients’ heritage/cultural identity, accomplishes just that, while mediating the effect of workgroup stress.
Study Objective: To understand the direct and indirect effects on palliative caregivers experiencing workplace stress and how the supporting of cultural identity factors can increase their quality of life and that of the patients they serve.
Methods: Survey data was collected from professional caregivers using the ProQol (Professional quality of Life), NUCAT and Workgroup culture instruments. Measures of workgroup cultural differences, burnout, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction as well as a measure of micro, meso and macro cultural beliefs were used. There were a total of 630 individual professional caregiver respondents, representing 66.5 per cent of organizations which are members of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. Structural equation modeling was used to test the interactions among the aforementioned constructs and to test this study’s multiple hypotheses.
Results: The proposed structural equation model fit well (as indicated by the Chi-square test and fit indices). It was found that the stress due to workgroup culture differences increased compassion fatigue and burnout while decreasing compassion satisfaction. Increased levels of compassion fatigue increased burnout. Stronger support for patient and caregiver cultural identity mediated the effects of stress reducing burnout, and compassion fatigue while increasing caregiver compassion satisfaction (significant p<.05).
12th congress of European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC)
Elation and grief: Stories of personal growth amidst stress from parents caring for a child with life-limiting illness.
Abstract
Backgroud: This research addresses personal growth in parents who care for a child with a life-limiting illness. Personal growth is considered to be the positive changes people experience as a result of adverse circumstances. There is a paucity of research to date on positive outcomes in caregiving, especially concerning parents. This research is unusual in that it examines people experiencing ongoing stressful circumstances rather than a single life event.
Study Objective: To identify the factors that allow parent caregivers to survive and even grow in the face of the stressful circumstances of caring for a child with a life-limiting illness. Methods: Data was collected by survey and in-depth interviews of parent caregivers. The survey included measures of stress, burden, spirituality, meaning in caregiving, posttraumatic growth, optimism, and self-esteem. Participants were recruited through children’s hospices and hospitals throughout Canada and the United States. Semi-structured, face to face interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of parents (N=23) from the quantitative phase of the study (N=273). Interviews lasted about 2 hours and explored experiences of stress and personal growth. After being transcribed the data was coded using the constant comparative method.
Results: Results will be presented where the qualitative data enhances or contradicts the quantitative results of this study. Examples of high and low growth will be discussed as measured with the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory.
Conclusions: This research enhances our understanding of personal growth in parents who are caring for a child with a life-limiting illness, which in turn enhances the practice of pediatric palliative care. The data illustrates how positive and negative experiences and emotions co-occur, not replace one another. The next phase of this project is to study personal growth over time in both parents who are currently caring for their children and those who are bereaved.
Barcelona European Health Sciences Conference
Understanding and improving quality of work-life for palliative healthcare professionals: A structural equation model of workgroup culture differentials on Burnout, Compassion Fatigue and Compassion satisfaction. What can we do to help?
Burnout is a frequently observed outcome for people in the not-for-profit health care industry and frequently manifests itself by increased absenteeism, compassion fatigue, worker turnover and job stress/dissatisfaction. These effects can be even more pronounced in health care area that deals with end-of-life and palliative care professionals. There is a paucity of research that examines impact of workplace culture, in its various manifestations, in mediating the negative effects of this demanding work setting. This study uses structural equation models to test how individual – workgroup cultural differentials in palliative care workers can decrease compassion satisfaction; increase burnout and compassion fatigue and how support for cultural believes, values and heritage can mitigate the negative effects and increase worker satisfaction.
Surprisingly, there is a gap within the palliative/end-of-life literature in how cultural factors impact levels of Compassion satisfaction (CS), Compassion fatigue (CF) and Burnout (BO). Furthermore, little is known of the optimal combination of personal attributes of workers, organizational culture and system structure that will support and sustain best practices in palliative care and minimize staff turnover. Bosma et al (2010) conducted a systematic review to identify literature that discussed the cultural dimensions of Hospice Palliative Care (HPC). The results revealed that culture plays an important role in HPC, particularly in Canada where populations comprise of many diverse ethnicities and cultures. To deepen our understanding of culture, we worked to refine existing instruments to be more appropriate for palliative care and end-of-life populations.
International Academy for Business and Economics (IABE) conference and publication in International Journal of Business Research (IJBR)
Direct effects of workgroup culture differentials on Burnout, Compassion Fatigue and Compassion satisfaction. Can one’s cultural beliefs mitigate these effects?
The impact of workers cultural beliefs upon their attitudes towards work and work performance has been the subject of a substantial amount of literature. There has been a trend in western society to removing cultural aspects from the workplace. Just looking at the Christmas event we see a movement to remove from the workplace such phrases as “Christmas holidays” and “Merry Christmas”. This research looks at the effects of supporting palliative care worker’s cultural identity, beliefs, values and practices and the results of this support on these employee’s burnout, compassion satisfaction and fatigue. The results of this paper find that if we support workers (and patients) cultural beliefs, identity, practices and values that we would improve the quality of work-life for palliate care workers by reducing burnout and compassion fatigue and increasing compassion satisfaction. It also finds a strong relationship between reducing individual-workgroup culture differences and support for worker’s and patient’s culture. This research poses the question “Should we support and celebrate our cultural differences in the workplace?”