Determinants of Caregivers' Conflict Experience in Elderly Care Institutions

요양기관 간병인의 갈등 경험에 영향을 미치는 요인

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of caregiver's conflict experience in elderly care institutions. This study focused on the three key independent variable groups(e.g., socio-demographic, job-related, and individual personality). The sample used in this study are 311 caregivers who are randomly selected from 21 elderly care institutions in Korea. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire by mail from Oct. 15 to Nov. 30 in 2007. The collected data were analyzed using logistic regression. The major findings of the study are as follows: 1) Nearly 40% percent of the respondents reported that they had experienced conflicts with elderly patients. The conflict with other caregivers ranked as second(20.6%), followed by patients' families(18.6%) and hospital employees(15.1%). 2) The personality, especially uniqueness caused conflict with patients or other caregivers. The professional identity reduced conflict with patients. The negative work experiences caused conflict with patients or family. The service attitude reduced conflict with family. The service-centered culture reduced conflict with hospital employees. Those who lived with the elderly showed lower level of conflict with family or hospital employees.