The staff is an essential element and challenge in social service provision. Long-term care workers matter and qualified and adequate staff can further support the transition to person-centred and community-based care and support. In an invited workshop, Professor Shereen Hussein presented findings from the Retention and Sustainability of Social Care Workforce (RESSCW) and Care Work-Related Quality of Life (CWRQoL) studies at the EASPD Conference, Malta, October 2022.
The conference aimed to promote the implementation of modern quality measurement models focusing on improving the quality of life of the people they support. It was s co-hosted by the European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities and Aġenzija Sapport.
The RESSCW project aims to help social care providers, commissioners, regulators and policy-makers understand the specific organisational and individual drivers of staff retention in the social care sector by exploring:
- What specific characteristics do social care workers have, and how committed are they to their jobs compared to workers in other low-wage service industries?
- Why are there differences in retention rates between social care providers and social care and other low-wage service industries?
- Why do care workers leave their jobs, and why do some job leavers leave the social care industry altogether?
- What is the impact of COVID-19 on workforce retention and sustainability?
Drawing on findings from the RESSCW study and the CWRQoL study, Professor Hussein first highlights evidence on the links between working conditions and workers’ well-being on LTC service quality. She then discusses the different dimensions of LTC workers’ well-being and how these were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the presentation concludes with some policy and practice implications and recommendations.
The full presentation can be accessed below:
SH-EASPD-Presentation
Founder and Director
Shereen Hussein is a Health and Social Care Policy professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), United Kingdom.
Shereen Founded the MENARAH Network in 2019, through an initial grant from the Global Challenge Research Fund, UKRI. She is a medical demographer with expertise in ageing, family dynamics, migration and long-term care systems. Shereen regularly collaborates with the United Nations, the World Health Organisation and the World Bank in policy and research focused on ageing in the Middle East and North Africa Region.
Shereen received her undergraduate degree in statistics and a postgraduate degree in computer science at Cairo University. She completed an MSc in medical demography at the London School of Hygiene and a PhD in quantitative demography and population studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom.
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