Roles of Assistive Devices for Home Care Staff in Sweden: A Qualitative Study
By Pettersson, Ingvor; Fahlstroem, Gunilla; Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 295-304Publication Date: September 2010
Study explored home care staff experiences in relation to assistive devices and their use in the workplace. Participants were 14 home care workers, one man and 13 women with a mean age of 39, whose clients had taken part in a previous study of the experiences of persons with stroke in using assistive devices. Individual conversational interviews were used, and data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The devices on which participants based their experience in the interview were mainly products for personal care and mobility, including walkers, wheelchairs, reachers, hoists, raised toilet seats, and shower chairs or stools. A broad meaning attached to the use of assistive devices at work emerged in three themes: (1) in staff’s role at work in relation to assistive devices, their different roles were defined in relation to knowledge and instruction as well as safeguarding the user; (2) devices were an integrated part of staff work in the users’ home, influencing staff cooperation and feelings and being significant in relation to time and finance; and (3) regarding their significance for the user, staff felt that devices were a prerequisite for coping with everyday life and also had an emotional significance.
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Limited (Website:http://taylorandfrancis.org)
International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.isprm.org )
