Dale Yeatts

OLDER WORKER'S ADAPTATION TO A CHANGING WORKPLACE: EMPLOYMENT ISSUES FOR THE 21st CENTURY

The extent to which older workers leave their jobs rather than adapt to workplace changes has a large impact on the organizations they work for, on government programs (especially Social Security) and on the older workers themselves. A conceptualization of the work adaptation process begins by recognizing that older employees have needs, values, and interests that must be met by their jobs in order for them to choose to remain employed and adapt to changes in the workplace. Simultaneously, a job has knowledge, skill, and ability requirements that must be met by the older employee in order for an employer to choose to retain the employee. As a job changes, the individual - job fit is also likely to change, with the result often being that the employee is required to adapt. A review of the literature shows that there are a variety of factors at the individual, organizational, and environmental levels that impact an older workers choice and ability to adjust to workplace changes . These factors include , fo...

CNA empowerment: effects on job performance and work attitudes.

In this analysis, the effects of empowerment were examined among a sample of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) representing a wide range of empowerment levels. On the basis of survey responses from 298 CNAs and 136 nurses in five nursing homes where CNA-empowered work teams had been implemented and five nursing homes with more traditional management approaches, the results indicated that CNA empowerment had a variety of effects. CNAs with high empowerment and the nurses who worked with them tended to report better CNA performance and work-related attitudes. Both were also less likely to be thinking about leaving their jobs. With the help of lessons learned from new culture change initiatives, and with commitment, effort, and attention, nursing homes and other health care providers can reap the benefits associated with employee empowerment strategies, such as CNA-empowered work teams.

Employment Leave and Fathers’ Involvement with Children According to Mothers and Fathers

Employment leave patterns, factors affecting these patterns, and the impact on involvement with children were assessed for fathers in thirty-eight couples. Parents completed self-administered questionnaires on work schedule changes after the arrival of a baby, reactions to these changes, child care activities, and attitudes. An average of the mothers and the fathers assessments for the twenty-one items and index were used to measure fathers’ involvement. Almost half of the fathers took some leave, but few utilized parental leave benefits. White non-Hispanic fathers who shared equalitarian beliefs with mothers were the most likely to take leave. Fathers who took leave were more likely to share some child care tasks with mothers than were fathers who did not take leave, but no differences were found for time spent or taking responsibility for child care. Holding equalitarian beliefs, the amount and source of income, education, and hours worked were predictive of greater involvement.

FATHERS TAKING PARENTAL LEAVE AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH CHILDREN

Parental leave has been promoted as a way to enhance employed fathers’ involvement with their children. Leave patterns, factors affecting these patterns and the impact of taking leave on involvement with children were assessed for fathers in 38 couples. Parents, contacted through their employers, completed self-administered questionnaires on their work schedule changes after the arrival of a baby, reactions to these changes, childcare activities and attitudes. The mothers and fathers assessments in each couple were averaged to measure 21 different aspects of fathers’ involvement. Fathers who took leave were more likely to share some specific childcare tasks with mothers than fathers who did not take leave but no differences were found for time spent with children or taking responsibility for childcare. Parents’ equalitarian beliefs, income and education had more impact than taking leave on fathers’ overall involvement in childcare. Se ha promovido La Licencia de Paternidad como una forma para ayudar a los padres que están empleados a involucrarse con sus hijos. Los patrones de estas licencias, los factores que afectan estos patrones, y el impacto que tiene esta licencia en las relaciones con los niños fueron evaluadas por los padres en 38 parejas. Los padres, contactados por sus empleadores, completaron cuestionarios sobre los cambios en sus horarios de trabajo después de la llegada del bebé, las reacciones a esos cambios, actividades para el cuidado del niño, y sus actitudes. Se hizo un promedio midiendo los 21 diferentes aspectos del involucro de los padres presentado en las evaluaciones hechas por la madre y el padre en cada pareja. Los padres que tomaron licencia de paternidad, generalmente compartieron con la madre algunos aspectos específicos para el cuidado del niño a diferencia de los padres que no tomaron la licencia, pero no se encontraron diferencias sobre el tiempo empleado con los niños o en las responsabilidades del cuidado de los mismos. En general, las creencias sobre la igualdad, la situación económica y la educación de los padres, tuvo más impacto que el involucrarse totalmente en el cuidado de los niños de los padres con licencia de paternidad.

Being an Informed Consumer of Health Information and Assessment of Electronic Health Literacy in a National Sample of Internet Users: Validity and Reliability of the e-HLS Instrument

Background The Internet, with its capacity to provide information that transcends time and space barriers, continues to transform how people find and apply information to their own lives. With the current explosion in electronic sources of health information, including thousands of websites and hundreds of mobile phone health apps, electronic health literacy is gaining an increasing prominence in health and medical research. An important dimension of electronic health literacy is the ability to appraise the quality of information that will facilitate everyday health care decisions. Health information seekers explore their care options by gathering information from health websites, blogs, Web-based forums, social networking websites, and advertisements, despite the fact that information quality on the Internet varies greatly. Nonetheless, research has lagged behind in establishing multidimensional instruments, in part due to the evolving construct of health literacy itself. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine psychometric properties of a new electronic health literacy (ehealth literacy) measure in a national sample of Internet users with specific attention to older users. Our paper is motivated by the fact that ehealth literacy is an underinvestigated area of inquiry. Methods Our sample was drawn from a panel of more than 55,000 participants maintained by Knowledge Networks, the largest national probability-based research panel for Web-based surveys. We examined the factor structure of a 19-item electronic Health Literacy Scale (e-HLS) through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency reliability, and construct validity on sample of adults (n=710) and a subsample of older adults (n=194). The AMOS graphics program 21.0 was used to construct a measurement model, linking latent factors obtained from EFA with 19 indicators to determine whether this factor structure achieved a good fit with our entire sample and the subsample (age ≥ 60 years). Linear regression analyses were performed in separate models to examine: (1) the construct validity of the e-HLS and (2) its association with respondents’ demographic characteristics and health variables. Results The EFA produced a 3-factor solution: communication (2 items), trust (4 items), and action (13 items). The 3-factor structure of the e-HLS was found to be invariant for the subsample. Fit indices obtained were as follows: full sample: χ2 (710)=698.547, df=131, P<.001, comparative fit index (CFI)=0.94, normed fit index (NFI)=0.92, root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.08; and for the older subsample (age ≥ 60 years): χ2 (194)=275.744, df=131, P<.001, CFI=0.95, NFI=0.90, RMSEA=0.08. Conclusions The analyses supported the e-HLS validity and internal reliability for the full sample and subsample. The overwhelming majority of our respondents reported a great deal of confidence in their ability to appraise the quality of information obtained from the Internet, yet less than half reported performing quality checks contained on the e-HLS.

Social Support and Life Satisfaction among Older Adults in China: Family-Based Support versus Community-Based Support

Family-based support has been the traditional care arrangement for the elderly in China. With the maturing of its “one child per couple” policy and the changing scenarios of family structure and cultural norms, these traditional care arrangements for the Chinese elderly are becoming dismantled. Centers and associations within the community have gradually become the major infrastructures to provide old age service and support in China. This study examined the effects of family-based and community-based support on life satisfaction among older Chinese adults, using data from the pilot survey of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2008. A series of multilevel models were assessed with statistical package SAS 9.2 among 1,398 Chinese adults aged 45 or older. The results suggest that even with the inclusion of community-based support, family-based support variable, the perceived future help from family members, still significantly predicted the life satisfaction among older Chinese adults.

Village Characteristics and Health of Rural Chinese Older Adults: Examining the CHARLS Pilot Study of a Rich and Poor Province

Community (or village) characteristics have received growing attention as researchers have sought factors affecting health. This study examines the association between a variety of environmental, economic, and social village characteristics and health of Chinese older rural adults with health measured in terms of physical limitations. The Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) Pilot Study data were used. Older villagers from a low-income province (Gansu) and a relatively wealthy province (Zhejiang) were surveyed between July and September, 2008. The sample included 1267 respondents in 73 villages age 45 and older. The relationship between a variety of village characteristics and physical limitations of older adults was examined using negative binomial regression (NBR) with standard errors adjusted to account for non-independence of respondents in a village. A comparison of means/percentages shows that Gansu and Zhejiang were significantly different on the dependent and most independent variables. The NBR models show that at the personal-level, decreased risk of physical limitations was associated with being male, less than 60 years old, married, higher in education, and higher in household expenditures (proxy for income). At the village-level, decreased risk of limitations was associated with a continuous supply of electricity, not using coal in the household, the existence of a sewage system, low cost of electricity, and village wealth. Decreased risk of physical limitations was also associated with various characteristics of Chinas New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), an insurance program for rural older adults. Policy implications for improved health of rural older adults include: (1) continued use of Chinas NCMS, (2) establishment of village sewage systems, (3) ending the use of coal in the home, and (4) increased educational opportunities focused on health.

Nurse aide decision making in nursing homes: factors affecting empowerment

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To evaluate factors affecting structural empowerment among nurse aides in nursing homes. BACKGROUND Structural empowerment can be defined as the actual rather than perceived ability to make autonomous decisions within an organisation. Given the paucity of research on the subject, this study helps to close the gap by identifying factors that affect nurse aide empowerment, that is, decision-making among nurse aides. METHODS The data for the study come from self-administered questionnaires distributed to direct-care workers (nurse aides) in 11 nursing homes in a southern state in the USA. Ordinary least square regression models were estimated to analyse the effects of demographic predictors, personal factors (competency, emotional exhaustion and positive attitude) and structural characteristics (coworker and supervisor support, information availability and shared governance) on nurse aide decision-making. RESULTS Findings suggest race among demographic predictors, emotional exhaustion among personal characteristics, and supervisor support, and shared governance among structural factors, significantly affect nurse aide decision-making. CONCLUSION It is important to explore race as one of the central determinants of structural empowerment among nurse aides. In addition, the nature and type of emotional exhaustion that propels decision-making needs to be further examined. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The study shows the importance of shared governance and supervisor support for fostering nurse aide empowerment.

Social Capital and Self-Rated Health Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China A Multilevel Analysis

This study examined the association between social capital, at both the individual and the community level, and self-rated health among older adults in China. Using data from the 2008 Pilot Survey of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a series of multilevel logistic models were estimated in SAS 9.2. The association between social capital and self-rated health was examined among 996 adults aged 45 or older from two provinces in China, while controlling for demographic characteristics and socioeconomic variables. Our results suggest the significant association between certain aspects of social capital, at both the individual and the community level, and self-rated health. The individual-level social capital in the form of perceived help in the future and the social capital of community in the form of the availability of amenities and associations within the community were significantly related to self-rated health. A significant cross-level interaction effect between individual- and community-level social capital was also observed.Article on social capital and self-rated health among middle-aged and older adults in China.

Employee age and perceptions of work in self-managing and traditional work groups.

Self-managing work groups are a form of work design in which employees take responsibility for the groups tasks and have discretion over decisions which impact group performance. To explore the impact of age and work teams on job attitudes, data from 477 employees suggested that self-managed work group members differed from traditional job holders regarding perceived general job satisfaction, perceived control by supervisors, as well as a number of specific dimensions of the work environment. Moreover, while there was evidence of an age effect on attitudes toward supervisory control, there was no joint effect of age by work design on job attitudes, i.e., ones perceived general job satisfaction. Older employees who were members of self-managed work groups were however, more impacted by this form of work design in reporting more positive perceptions of their access to information essential to the performance of their work. These findings suggest that an “older” work force should not be considered a barrier to implementing a work teams approach to job design.