title: Drivers of change: Learning from the lived experiences of nursing home social workers.
abstract: In response to the growing attention to integrated health care and the cultural change movement in nursing homes, this study examines the lived experiences of nursing home social workers to better understand their role perceptions, job satisfaction, and relationship with other staff members. Hermeneutic phenomenology was used in order to understand the lived experience of being a nursing home social worker. Ten nursing home social workers were recruited from a southern state and individual interviews were conducted. From the interviews, four themes emerged: challenge, coping, mattering, and rewarding. Guided by identity negotiation theory and social identity theory, these findings are discussed. Also, implications for social work education, nursing home administration, and policy is discussed.
authors.affiliation: a School of Social Work , The University of Texas at Austin , Austin , Texas , USA.
authors.forename: Ahyoung Anna
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: a School of Social Work , The University of Texas at Austin , Austin , Texas , USA.
authors.forename: Sharon Narae
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: a School of Social Work , The University of Texas at Austin , Austin , Texas , USA.
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Armour
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012933:Social Identification; D000068217:Social Workers / Q000523:psychology*; D000078329:Workforce; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Health care professionals; long-term care; phenomenology; social services