Shortened Working Hours for Nurses in Elderly Care and Municipal Home Care - Work Environment, Work-life Balance & Well-being

Официальное название

Shortened Working Hours for Registered Nurses in Elderly Care and Municipal Home Care - How is it Linked to Nurse-rated Work Environment, Work-life Balance and Well-being?

Обзор

Elderly care and municipal home care have and are facing several challenges with an increasing number of elderly people and fewer people of working age. In addition, welfare staff also have more sick days on average than other areas. Stress, mental ill health and intention to leave work are common. Furthermore, there is a national and international shortage of staff and especially a shortage of specialist nurses, e.g., elderly care and primary care. Strengthening the positive aspects will be central and creating good conditions for staff and thus hopefully also better care and welfare. A sustainable working life where the staff thrive, experience learning, meaning, well-being, good structural conditions, work-life balance and want to stay in the long term. In one of the municipalities in this research project, they will introduce shortened working hours for registered nurses. A shortened working hours (reduced full-time standard by 3.25 hours/week with maintained salary) during a one-year pilot project for nurses in elderly care and municipal home care. Current full-time standard 38.25 hours/week. The municipality has initiated, decided and will implement the changes and the researchers are asked to follow the project. Nurses from the municipality implementing reduced working hours and nurses from municipalities without changed working hours will be invited to participate in the study. The nurses will answer a questionnaire before and after the changes (6 and 12 months after the first data collection). The overall aim of the research is to investigate registered nurses' experiences of their work environment, health, well-being and intention to quit/remain, as well as the quality of care, nurse turnover and sick leave. To study the relationship between shortening working hours or not, nurses' assessments of the work environment, intention to quit/remain, health, well-being and quality of care. The main research questions are: * What are the relationships over time between working hours reduction or not, sociodemographic factors, nurse-rated work environment, intention to quit/remain, health, well-being and nurse-rated quality of care (follow-up after 12 months)? * What changes occur over time in nurses' assessments of work environment, intention to quit/remain, health, well-being and quality of care, and are there any differences compared to a comparison group/municipalities?

Подробное описание

The research project has a prospective design and all nurses (approximately 40) in the municipality where the working hours reduction is implemented will be asked to participate, as well as all nurses in five comparison municipalities (approximately 150).

Data analysis: For the correlation analyses, bivariate correlation analyses and regression analyses (univariate and multiple) or Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) will be used. GEE to take clustering into account. For the comparative tests, t-test or ANOVA/ANCOVA will be used or equivalent non-parametric tests if the data is not normally distributed.

To study relationships in a multiple linear regression analysis, 50+8\*m (people) are required, where m is the number of variables included in the relationship analysis. In this case, investigators expect to use approximately 5-10 explanatory variables, one of which is working time reduction or not, i.e. approximately 90-130 participants. Investigators will invite approximately 190 nurses and expect that some nurses will decline or drop out over time.

Вмешательства

• Другое Shortened working hours
  In one of the municipalities in this research project, they will introduce shortened working hours for registered nurses. A shortened working hours (reduced full-time standard by 3.25 hours/week with maintained salary) during a one-year pilot project for nurses in elderly care and municipal home care. Current full-time standard 38.25 hours/week. The municipality has initiated, decided and will implement the changes and the researchers are asked to follow the project.

Первичные конечные точки

• Well-being - Work-life balance - dimension "work interference with personal life" [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and then 6 and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection). For the 6-months data collection only nurses in the group with shortened working hours, at 12 months all nurses.]
• Well-being - Work-life balance - dimension "work enhancement of personal life" [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and thereafter 6 and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection). For the 6-months data collection only nurses in the group with shortened working hours, at 12 months all nurses.]

Вторичные конечные точки (12)

• Well-being - Work-life balance - dimension "personal life enhancement of work" [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and thereafter 6 and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection). For the 6-months data collection only nurses in the group with shortened working hours, at 12 months all nurses.]
• Well-being - Recovery experience [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and thereafter 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection).]
• Well-being - Thriving [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and thereafter 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection).]
• Well-being - Intention to quite/leave the job [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and thereafter 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection).]
• Well-being - Intention to remain at this workplace [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and thereafter 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection).]
• Well-being - Job satisfaction [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and thereafter 6 and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection). For the 6-months data collection only nurses in the group with shortened working hours, at 12 months all nurses.]
• Well-being - Life satisfaction [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and thereafter 6 and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection). For the 6-months data collection only nurses in the group with shortened working hours, at 12 months all nurses.]
• Health - Stress symptoms [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-) and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection). After 6 months, nurses from the municipality with reduced working hours will answer 1 question about tiredness from the stress scale.]
• Health - Sleep quality [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and thereafter 6 and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection). For the 6-months data collection only nurses in the group with shortened working hours, at 12 months all nurses.]
• Health - Depression symptoms [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection).]
• Health - Anxiety symptoms [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection).]
• Health - Burnout [Срок оценки: Data collection before the changes (pre-), and 12 months after the first data collection (post data collection).]

Критерии участия

Критерии включения

• Registered nurses working in elderly care or in municipal home care.

Критерии исключения

• Registered nurses on long-term leave.

Критерии приведены из реестра в оригинале (на английском). Окончательную оценку соответствия проводит исследовательский центр.

Здоровые добровольцы: Нет

Дизайн исследования

Модель наблюдения

Другое

Центры проведения

Швеция · 1 центр

• University of Gävle — Gävle

Идентификаторы

NCT: NCT07520058 · HIG-FORSK 2026/81

Первоисточники (государственные реестры)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (NIH, США)

Открыть это исследование на ClinicalTrials.gov ↗