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The Effects of Personal Background and Occupational Stress on the QOL of Vietnamese Care Attendants Working at Medical Institutions in Taiwan

Received: 7 July 2013    Accepted:     Published: 10 August 2013
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Abstract

Background: With the rapid increase in the elderly population, there is a growing demand for care attendants at medical institutions in Taiwan The rapid growth in the number of foreign care attendants is significant and the quality of care provided by these foreign care attendants is directly related to the quality of care received by elderly people. However, few studies have addressed the relationship between occupational stress and quality of life (QOL) for foreign care attendants in Taiwan. Purpose: This study explored the relations between personal background and occupational stress and QOL of Vietnamese care attendants in Taiwan. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited Vietnamese care attendants currently working at regional hospitals in Kaohsiung City and County who had worked in Taiwan for at least three months. We distributed a structured questionnaire to potential participants and collected 264 valid completed questionnaires between January and April 2010.Results: Significant statistical differences were detected in the QOL of Vietnamese care attendants of various ages and educational levels, in the number of non-work days in a month, the number of daily work hours, and the number of patients cared for. A negative correlation was found between the various levels of occupational stress and the eight dimensions of wellness for Vietnamese care attendants, indicating that higher occupational stress led to lower QOL. In addition, we developed a regression model for overall QOL (SF-36), a physical component summary (PCS) and a mental component summary (MCS). By entering the variables “workload and work procedures,” “number of daily work hours,” and “relationships with management supervisors” into our regression model, we calculated the variance for “overall QOL (SF-36),” “QOL for PCS,” and “QOL for MCS” to be 44.9%, 38.3%, and 41.7%, respectively. Conclusions: Higher levels of occupational stress led to a lower QOL for Vietnamese care attendants. Of all the factors, “workload and work procedures,” “number of daily work hours,” and “relationships with management supervisors” wielded the greatest influence on QOL.

Published in American Journal of Nursing Science (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11
Page(s) 40-49
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Medical Institution, Vietnamese Care Attendants, Occupational Stress, Quality of Life

References
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  • APA Style

    Hsiu-Chen Chang Chien, Su-Feng Chu, Chi Chang, Chien-An Sun, Yu-Ching Chou, et al. (2013). The Effects of Personal Background and Occupational Stress on the QOL of Vietnamese Care Attendants Working at Medical Institutions in Taiwan. American Journal of Nursing Science, 2(4), 40-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11

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    ACS Style

    Hsiu-Chen Chang Chien; Su-Feng Chu; Chi Chang; Chien-An Sun; Yu-Ching Chou, et al. The Effects of Personal Background and Occupational Stress on the QOL of Vietnamese Care Attendants Working at Medical Institutions in Taiwan. Am. J. Nurs. Sci. 2013, 2(4), 40-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11

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    AMA Style

    Hsiu-Chen Chang Chien, Su-Feng Chu, Chi Chang, Chien-An Sun, Yu-Ching Chou, et al. The Effects of Personal Background and Occupational Stress on the QOL of Vietnamese Care Attendants Working at Medical Institutions in Taiwan. Am J Nurs Sci. 2013;2(4):40-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11,
      author = {Hsiu-Chen Chang Chien and Su-Feng Chu and Chi Chang and Chien-An Sun and Yu-Ching Chou and Shu-Chun Hsueh and Tsan Yang and Tsan Yang},
      title = {The Effects of Personal Background and Occupational Stress on the QOL of Vietnamese Care Attendants Working at Medical Institutions in Taiwan},
      journal = {American Journal of Nursing Science},
      volume = {2},
      number = {4},
      pages = {40-49},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajns.20130204.11},
      abstract = {Background: With the rapid increase in the elderly population, there is a growing demand for care attendants at medical institutions in Taiwan The rapid growth in the number of foreign care attendants is  significant and the quality of care provided by these foreign care attendants is directly related to the quality of care received by elderly people. However, few studies have addressed the relationship between occupational stress and quality of life (QOL) for foreign care attendants in Taiwan. Purpose: This study explored the relations between personal background and occupational stress and QOL of Vietnamese care attendants in Taiwan. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited Vietnamese care attendants currently working at regional hospitals in Kaohsiung City and County who had worked in Taiwan for at least three months. We distributed a structured questionnaire to potential participants and collected 264 valid completed questionnaires between January and April 2010.Results: Significant statistical differences were detected in the QOL of Vietnamese care attendants of various ages and educational levels, in the number of non-work days in a month, the number of daily work hours, and the number of patients cared for. A negative correlation was found between the various levels of occupational stress and the eight dimensions of wellness for Vietnamese care attendants, indicating that higher occupational stress led to lower QOL. In addition, we developed a regression model for overall QOL (SF-36), a physical component summary (PCS) and a mental component summary (MCS). By entering the variables “workload and work procedures,” “number of daily work hours,” and “relationships with management supervisors” into our regression model, we calculated the variance for “overall QOL (SF-36),” “QOL for PCS,” and “QOL for MCS” to be 44.9%, 38.3%, and 41.7%, respectively. Conclusions: Higher levels of occupational stress led to a lower QOL for Vietnamese care attendants. Of all the factors, “workload and work procedures,” “number of daily work hours,” and “relationships with management supervisors” wielded the greatest influence on QOL.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Effects of Personal Background and Occupational Stress on the QOL of Vietnamese Care Attendants Working at Medical Institutions in Taiwan
    AU  - Hsiu-Chen Chang Chien
    AU  - Su-Feng Chu
    AU  - Chi Chang
    AU  - Chien-An Sun
    AU  - Yu-Ching Chou
    AU  - Shu-Chun Hsueh
    AU  - Tsan Yang
    AU  - Tsan Yang
    Y1  - 2013/08/10
    PY  - 2013
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11
    T2  - American Journal of Nursing Science
    JF  - American Journal of Nursing Science
    JO  - American Journal of Nursing Science
    SP  - 40
    EP  - 49
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5753
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajns.20130204.11
    AB  - Background: With the rapid increase in the elderly population, there is a growing demand for care attendants at medical institutions in Taiwan The rapid growth in the number of foreign care attendants is  significant and the quality of care provided by these foreign care attendants is directly related to the quality of care received by elderly people. However, few studies have addressed the relationship between occupational stress and quality of life (QOL) for foreign care attendants in Taiwan. Purpose: This study explored the relations between personal background and occupational stress and QOL of Vietnamese care attendants in Taiwan. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited Vietnamese care attendants currently working at regional hospitals in Kaohsiung City and County who had worked in Taiwan for at least three months. We distributed a structured questionnaire to potential participants and collected 264 valid completed questionnaires between January and April 2010.Results: Significant statistical differences were detected in the QOL of Vietnamese care attendants of various ages and educational levels, in the number of non-work days in a month, the number of daily work hours, and the number of patients cared for. A negative correlation was found between the various levels of occupational stress and the eight dimensions of wellness for Vietnamese care attendants, indicating that higher occupational stress led to lower QOL. In addition, we developed a regression model for overall QOL (SF-36), a physical component summary (PCS) and a mental component summary (MCS). By entering the variables “workload and work procedures,” “number of daily work hours,” and “relationships with management supervisors” into our regression model, we calculated the variance for “overall QOL (SF-36),” “QOL for PCS,” and “QOL for MCS” to be 44.9%, 38.3%, and 41.7%, respectively. Conclusions: Higher levels of occupational stress led to a lower QOL for Vietnamese care attendants. Of all the factors, “workload and work procedures,” “number of daily work hours,” and “relationships with management supervisors” wielded the greatest influence on QOL.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Respiratory Care Ward, Chien-Yu Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

  • Department of Nursing, Meiho University, Pingtung, Taiwan

  • Department of Nursing, Meiho University, Pingtung, Taiwan

  • Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan

  • School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei City, Taiwan

  • Department of Health Business Administration, Meiho University, Pingtung, Taiwan

  • Department of Health Business Administration, Meiho University, Pingtung, Taiwan

  • Department of Health Business Administration, Meiho University, Pingtung, Taiwan

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