The Impact of Relational Coordination on Staff Outcomes in Long-Term Care

TL;DR

This study shows that better communication and relationships among staff in long-term care improve their engagement and satisfaction, while reducing burnout.

Contribution

The study demonstrates that relational coordination significantly affects staff outcomes in long-term care settings.

Findings

Relational coordination is positively linked to work engagement, job satisfaction, and professional efficacy.

Relational coordination is negatively linked to emotional exhaustion.

Higher education is associated with better work engagement and job satisfaction but higher emotional exhaustion.

Abstract

Relational coordination (RC) emphasizes the importance of communication and relationships among staff to effectively coordinate care. This study investigated the impact of RC on staff outcomes: work engagement, job satisfaction, and burnout in seven long-term care (LTC) homes in Ontario, Canada. In phase 1 of this mixed-methods study, an online survey was distributed to staff (nurses, allied health providers, personal support workers) working in LTC homes. Staff were asked about RC, work engagement, job satisfaction, work-related burnout (professional efficacy, emotional exhaustion, cynicism), and demographic information. The impact of RC on staff outcomes was assessed using random-effect modeling to account for the multi-level (staff/ LTC) data, with staff as the unit of analysis and LTC as the random effect. We received 153 completed surveys. RC had a significant positive association with staff work engagement, job satisfaction, and professional efficacy in both unadjusted and adjusted models for staff demographics and LTC size. In contrast, RC had a significant negative association with emotional exhaustion and a non-significant negative association with cynicism. Age had a significant positive association with work engagement and job satisfaction, while the association was inverse with cynicism. Holding a bachelor’s degree or higher had a significant positive association with work engagement and job satisfaction; however, the association was inverse with emotional exhaustion. None of the demographics were significantly associated with professional efficacy. Better communication and relationships between staff can enhance their work engagement and well-being, which could improve overall work efficiency and support quality improvement innovations for integrated care.