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 Findlay

School of Psychology and Vision Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

Noelle Robertson

School of Psychology and Vision Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

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