People & Contexts | Workforce

How Do Home Care Workers Experience A Client’s Death, Professionally and Personally? A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis

Published: Nov 2024

Authors

Gillian Mhairi Findlay¹, Noelle Robertson ², ³

¹ School of Psychology and Vision Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK   ² School of Psychology and Vision Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK   ³   

Abstract

Background: 

Home care workers (HCWs) may frequently experience client death. This critical interpretive meta-synthesis aimed to identify the impacts of client death to offer preliminary recommendations with respect to support. 

Method: 

Five electronic databases, APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus, were searched systematically using keywords and subject headings. 

Results: 

Eight papers focusing on HCWs’ experiences of client death were identified. Constructs were elicited and interpreted via Reciprocal Translation Analysis. The interpreted line of argument highlighted four interrelated themes: ‘‘Personal grief: The impact of loss’, ‘Disenfranchised grief: no space for humanity and connection’', Inherent tension between self-care and organisational expectations: “You need a moment to hit the reset”, and ‘I wish someone was there to talk to: HCW support needs’. 

Conclusions: 

The findings demonstrate that HCWs are affected in multiple ways by client death, but these impacts are not consistently recognised or responded to by their organisations.

Access

Web link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00302228241302431