3.2 S URVEY OF C ARE W ORKERS
3.2.1 The survey sample
Residential Aged Care Facility No. %
Spiritus - Bundaberg (Meilene) Day Respite Service (Bundaberg QLD) 8 7.7%
Spiritus - Wide Bay (Kirami) Day Respite Service (Point Vernon QLD) 6 5.8%
United Church Frontier Services - Pulkapulkka Kari Day Respite (Tennant Creek NT) 1 1.0%
United Church Frontier Services - Rocky Ridge Day Respite (Katherine NT) 2 1.9%
Uniting Church Homes Inc - Bethavon Day Respite (Northam WA) 1 1.0%
Warrigal Care - Day Respite (Goulburn NSW) 4 3.8%
Facility not stated 2 1.9%
Total 104 100.0%
As part of the survey distribution procedure, Day Respite Coordinators were asked to advise how many Care Worker Survey forms had actually been distributed at their site, so that response rates could be calculated. Twelve of the 31 sites provided this information. The Care Worker Survey response rate for each of those sites individually, and as a group, is shown in Table 14 below.
Table 14: Response rates for the Care Worker Survey, for the 12 sites that provided information on the number of forms actually distributed
Residential Aged Care Facility No. of Care Worker Survey forms distributed
No. of responses
received
Response rate ACH Group Inc - Perry Park's Riverview Day Respite Service
(Port Noarlunga SA)
6 5 83.3%
Inner East Community Health Service - Day Respite, The Caring Café / Sir Eric Pearce House (Richmond VIC)
10 4 40.0%
Jewish Care Victoria - Stepping Out Day Respite (Melbourne VIC)
2 2 100.0%
Karingal Care Services - Day Respite (Devonport TAS) 8 7 87.5%
Lyndoch Warrnambool Inc - Homestead Day Stay Respite (Warrnambool VIC)
10 5 50.0%
Mandurah Retirement Village Inc - Coolibah Day Centre (Mandurah WA)
7 5 71.4%
Manningham Centre Association Inc - Day Guest Respite Service (Doncaster VIC)
7 4 57.1%
Presbyterian Church NSW Property Trust - PAC Apsley Riverview Day Respite Service (Walcha NSW)
5 3 60.0%
Resthaven - Hersey Cottage Respite Service (Marion SA) 15 1 6.7%
Southern Cross Care Victoria - Ave Maria All Day Respite Program (Shepparton VIC)
10 9 90.0%
Spiritus - Bundaberg (Meilene) Day Respite Service (Bundaberg QLD)
9 8 88.9%
Warrigal Care - Day Respite (Goulburn NSW) 5 4 80.0%
Total 94 57 60.0%
Table 14 illustrates that response rates varied substantially across sites, however, most site-specific response rates were 50% or higher. The overall response rate for the sites as a whole was 60%, a very good result which is testament to those site coordinators who encouraged their staff to participate in the survey.
Facilities across all States were represented in the sample. As would be expected, the majority of respondents were from States which had the largest number of sites participating in the Program (NSW, Victoria, Qld), as shown in Figure 21 below.
Figure 21: Staff who responded to the Survey of Care Workers, by State
Facilities in inner regional areas were well represented in the sample (56.7% of respondents), and a further 35.6% of respondents were from facilities in a major city and 1.9% were from remote to very remote locations (see Figure 22).
Figure 22: Staff who responded to the Survey of Care Workers, by Remoteness Area4 of facility
The majority of respondents (73, 70.2%) described their position as Care Worker or Nurse. The next largest group represented in the sample was Activity, Lifestyle and Diversional Therapy staff (15.4%) as shown in Figure 23 below.
4ASGC Remoteness Structure (RA) Digital Boundaries (ABS Cat. No. 1259.0.30.004).
NSW 22, 21.2%
VIC 25, 24.0%
QLD 22, 21.2%
SA 13, 12.5%
WA 8, 7.7%
NT 3, 2.9%
TAS 9, 8.7%
Unknown 2, 1.9%
Total respondents: 104
Major city 37, 35.6%
Inner regional 59, 56.7%
Outer regional 3, 2.9%
Remote / Very remote
3, 2.9%
Unknown 2, 1.9%
Total respondents: 104
Figure 23: Positions held by staff who responded to the Survey of Care Workers
Females comprised 87.5% of respondents to the Survey of Care Workers, consistent with the 87.4% female gender profile of people working in residential aged care facilities in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics, data extracted from CDATA Online).
However, the age profile of Day Respite staff who responded to our survey appears to be slightly older than the age profile shown in 2006 Census data, indicating either that older staff tended to be more likely to respond to the survey, or that an older subgroup of workers may choose to work in the Day Respite service rather than in the residential care area. To illustrate, half (51.0%) of our survey respondents were aged 50 years or older, compared to 40.9% of all people working in residential aged care facilities according to the 2006 Census. The age profile of both groups is illustrated in Figure 24 below.
Care Worker or Nurse 73 respondents,
70.2%
Activity, Lifestyle and
Diversional Therapy staff 16 respondents,
15.4%
Administrative, domestic or other service
staff 10 respondents,
9.6%
Staff with a coordination/
management role 5 respondents,
4.8% Total respondents: 104
Figure 24: Age profile of the Care Worker Survey sample, compared to 2006 Census data on people working in residential aged care facilities
Two respondents indicated that they were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, although note that four people chose not to answer this question.
Nearly 80% of respondents had been born in Australia and 90.4% spoke English at home – see Figure 25 below.
Figure 25: Country of birth (left) and Main language spoken at home (right) of staff who responded to the Survey of Care Workers
0.0%
6.7%
13.5%
25.0%
38.5%
12.5%
0.0%
3.8%
2.0%
10.7%
15.6%
30.3% 31.7%
9.2%
0.6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
<20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+ Not stated
Age group
Survey of Care Workers 2006 Census (ABS)
Australia 83, 79.8%
United Kingdom 4, 3.8%
Europe 5, 4.8%
Asia 4, 3.8%
Other 3, 2.9%
Not stated 5, 4.8%
English 94, 90.4%
Chinese languages 4, 3.8%
Other 3, 2.9%
Not stated 3, 2.9%
Care Workers were also asked to describe their cultural background, by listing as many cultures as applied – see Table 15 below. Among the most common non English speaking cultural backgrounds of Care Workers were Southern European (5.8%), Eastern and South Eastern European (4.8%) and Chinese Asian (3.8%) – which reflects the targeting of the ethno-specific specialist services in the Program.
Table 15: Cultural background of staff who responded to the Survey of Care Workers
No. of responses % of all respondents*
Australian 73 70.2%
Australian Indigenous 1 1.0%
New Zealander or Maori 1 1.0%
British/UK (eg. English, Scottish, Welsh) 6 5.8%
Western European (eg. Dutch, French, German) 4 3.8%
Southern European (eg. Italian, Maltese, Spanish) 6 5.8%
South Eastern European (eg. Greek, Romanian, Serbian) 2 1.9%
Eastern European (eg. Czech, Polish, Russian) 3 2.9%
South East Asian (eg. Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese) 1 1.0%
Chinese Asian (eg. Chinese, Manchu, Taiwanese) 4 3.8%
Southern Asian (eg. Indian, Pakistani) 1 1.0%
North American (eg. American, Canadian) 2 1.9%
Not stated 12 11.5%
* Respondents could specify more than one cultural background, therefore the total does not add to 100%.
Just over a quarter (27.9%) of staff who responded to the Care Worker Survey were working the equivalent of full- time hours (35 hours or more per week), and a further 35.6% were working 25 to 34 hours per week (see Figure 26).
The number of hours worked was not significantly related to the age of the worker (Chi-Square test, p>.05).
Figure 26: Staff who responded to the Survey of Care Workers: Number of hours worked in paid employment per week, on average
15 hours or less 12, 11.5%
16 to 24 hours 20, 19.2%
25 to 34 hours 37, 35.6%
35 hours or more 29, 27.9%
Not stated 6, 5.8%
3.2.2 RATING THE LOCATION OF DAY RESPITE WITHIN A RESIDENTIAL AGED CARE SETTING