Person-centred care and job satisfaction of caregivers in nursing homes: a systematic review of the impact of different forms of person-centred care on various dimensions of job satisfaction

Objective The positive effects of person‐centred care on older clients have been demonstrated. However, relatively little is known about the effect that giving person‐centred care has on caregivers. This literature review examines the job satisfaction of caregivers who deliver person‐centred care in nursing homes. Design The research questions are: Do the various forms of person‐centred care affect job satisfaction differently? Which particular dimensions of job satisfaction have been evaluated in studies on person‐centred care, and does their sensitivity to person‐centred care differ? Using the search engines Pubmed, Cinahl, Psychinfo and Embase up to August 2010, 46 efficacy studies were found, seven of which satisfied our criteria. Results Emotion‐oriented care, snoezelen, and small‐scale care most often show positive effects on job satisfaction. Person‐centred care has been shown to have positive effects on general job satisfaction, job demands at psychogeriatric wards, emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment. Conclusions Taking into account the fair‐to‐moderate quality of the studies included, it is concluded that there are limited indications that person‐centred care has a positive effect on a number of dimensions of caregivers' job satisfaction. Further study is required to expand and to support these tentative conclusions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.