Psychological well-being as a predictor of dropout among recently qualified Danish eldercare workers.
BACKGROUND
The eldercare sector is characterized by a shortage of labour and a high turnover rate, which constitutes a major challenge for the ageing societies of western Europe. The aim of the present study was to investigate if a low level of psychological well-being at the time of graduation predicts dropout among eldercare workers two years later.


METHODS
We included 4,968 female eldercare trainees in this prospective study, recruited from 27 of the 28 Danish colleges for eldercare. Psychological well-being in 2004 was measured with the five-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). We linked the survey data with national register data to obtain information about labour market attachment two years after qualification.


RESULTS
In 2006, 37% of all participants had left the eldercare sector. Compared to participants with high psychological well-being at baseline, participants with medium and low psychological well-being were more likely to dropout to sectors unrelated to health and welfare (odds ratio (OR) 1.40 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.06-1.85) and 1.66 (95% CI = 1.27-2.19), respectively). They were also more likely to drop out of the labour market (OR 1.48 (95% CI = 1.08-2.04) and 1.60 (95% CI = 1.12-2.20), respectively). Psychological well-being was not related to dropout to other health- and welfare sectors or dropout to further education.


CONCLUSIONS
The fact that more than one third of all participants had left the eldercare sector two years after qualification demonstrates the importance of retention initiatives early in working life. In addition a focus on psychological well-being among eldercare workers should be considered.
Giver
Hanne
H
National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark. hgi@nrcwe.dk
Faber
Anne
A
Hannerz
Harald
H
Strøyer
Jesper
J
Rugulies
Reiner
R
D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008603:Mental Health; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010560:Personnel Selection; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D011361:Professional Competence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012947:Social Work; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce