Support workers in community mental health teams for older people: roles, boundaries, supervision and training

Wilberforce, Mark; Abendstern, Michele; Tucker, Sue; Ahmed, Saima; Jasper, Rowan; Challis, David

Abstract

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aims: The aim of this study was to explore the support worker functions in community mental health teams for older adults in relation to roles, boundaries, supervision and training. Background: Support workers in community mental health teams provide important help to older people with complex mental and physical health needs in their own homes. Their numbers have grown substantially in recent years, but without professional registration there is concern that boundaries with qualified practitioners are insufficiently clear and that they do not receive the support they require. Design: Qualitative research using interview data and thematic framework analysis investigated support workers’ and registered practitioners’ perspectives on roles, boundaries, supervision and training. Methods: Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were undertaken in 2011, with 42 members of nine teams spread across England, including support workers and community mental health nurses. Coding of transcribed audio-recordings and subsequent analysis was undertaken by four researchers. Results: Support workers undertook diverse roles and had considerable autonomy over their duties. Participants agreed about what tasks support workers should not undertake, yet there was evidence of ‘negotiated’ boundaries and examples of these being breached. Lines of authority were complex, yet support workers were supported through open communication with the wider team. Training was problematic, with few courses tailored for support workers and efforts towards formal qualification hindered by low pay and time pressures. Conclusion: Local and national attention is needed to prevent ‘drift’ into activities that both support workers and registered practitioners consider outside their remit. Barriers to training and further qualification need to be addressed.

Citation

Wilberforce, M., Abendstern, M., Tucker, S., Ahmed, S., Jasper, R., & Challis, D. (2017). Support workers in community mental health teams for older people: roles, boundaries, supervision and training. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73(7), 1657-1666. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13264

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 2, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Mar 6, 2017
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jun 21, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 3, 2020
• Journal: Journal of Advanced Nursing
• Print ISSN: 0309-2402
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2648
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 73
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 1657-1666
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13264
• Keywords: healthcare assistants; nurses; roles; supervision; support workers; training;; unlicensed assistive personnel
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3750973
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jan.13264
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Mark Wilberforce BA MSc, Michele Abendstern PG Dip PhD CQSW; Sue Tucker MSc RMN RGN, Saima Ahmed MSc PhD, Rowan Jasper BSc MPhil, David Challis MSc PhD Cert PSW. Support workers in community mental health teams for older people: roles, boundaries, supervision and training. Volume 73, Issue 7 p. 1657-1666; which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13264. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions