Abstract

In American society, convalescent facility residency is a fact of life for many of the aged. Typically, in these geriatric facilities, eighty to ninety percent of primary patient care services are delivered by unlicensed personnel. Unfortunately, this segment of the convalescent facility employee population tends to be transient, underpaid and overworked, and to feel very low esteem for themselves and their jobs. This situation has produced many service abuses and interaction difficulties in the convalescent facilities. Up until the present there has been little attempt on the part of Sociology to study this portion of the employee population in these facilities.

The major objective of this study was to further study, define, and attempt to indicate improvement directions for the situation of unlicensed personnel in convalescent facilities. In order to accomplish this a questionnaire was constructed, utilizing a modified form of the Butterfield and Bensberg SREB Attendant Opinion Survey, that attempted to measure if the recommended important variables from the research literature concerning other related employee populations would relate significantly to the situation of unlicensed personnel in geriatric convalescent facilities.

The research hypothesis was implemented through the distribution of the survey questionnaires to a sampling of the employees in seven teen convalescent hospitals in the San Bernardino City Metropolitan Area. Permission was obtained from the administrators and nursing supervisory staff in these institutions who worked closely with the researcher in distributing and collecting the survey instruments.

The results of this study were statistically inconclusive, but definitionally and descriptively significant. The independent variables of institutional type, present school attendance, educational level, and age and job type seemed to have a potentially strong effect on the attitude/opinion dimensions of institutional identification, attendant seclusiveness, comradeship with residents, negative feelings toward supervisory personnel, discipline, irritability, negative feelings concerning giving primary care services, job insecurity, and job rejection. The variables marital status and citizenship also had potential effects on single attitude dimensions. Other potential sources of difficulties in the interactions of unlicensed personnel were obtained in interviews with administrators and federal/state government agencies and these were discussed and considered from different perspectives quite extensively as part of this study.

Even though it is necessary to realize that this study is preliminary and pilot research, it is also important to understand that it can provide an important initial foundation for the study of an area of our society's environment that is becoming increasingly critical and needy of attention.

LLU Discipline

Sociology

School

Graduate School

First Advisor

John Elick

Second Advisor

Isao Horinouchi

Third Advisor

James Stirling

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Level

M.A.

Year Degree Awarded

1980

Date (Title Page)

6-1980

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Attitude of Health Personnel -- California -- San Bernardino; Geriatrics

Type

Thesis

Page Count

v; 137

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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