Building a Community Among Multicultural Healthcare Teams in Nursing Homes: A Qualitative Study of the International Caregiver Development Programme (ICDP)

Background

Healthcare workers in nursing homes are an educationally, experientially, culturally and linguistically diverse workforce who face increasing challenges in their working conditions. Studies indicate positive results with regard to cooperation and care from experiencing a sense of community in diverse healthcare teams.

Aim

This qualitative study aimed to explore healthcare workers' experiences of being part of a team in nursing homes before, during and after their participation in a psychosocial competence building intervention, the International Caregiver Development Programme (ICDP).

Methods

Fifteen focus group interviews of five ICDP group courses were conducted before, during and after participation in ICDP with 31 cross-cultural healthcare workers in nursing homes. The findings emerged through hermeneutic analysis. The results were compared with the open responses in an anonymous written evaluation. Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) served as a framework for reporting this study.

Results

Before ICDP, the participants reported a lack of communication regarding priorities, challenges in interactions with the residents and cultural and linguistic diversity among the healthcare workers. During participation in ICDP, they described increased knowledge and understanding of one another in addition to inspiring each other and acknowledging each other's diversity as healthcare workers. After completing ICDP, they experienced a sense of relational and practical community, a sense of pride in the team, increased self-confidence related to practice and increased job satisfaction.

Conclusion

This study indicated that ICDP has the potential to create a community of psychosocial practice in multicultural healthcare teams, which may be strengthened by experiences of mastery, confidence and pride. The participants in this study developed a common conceptual framework for understanding, prioritising and practising psychosocial care. The community seemed to facilitate cooperation between them and increase their job satisfaction.

Implications for Practice

Healthcare workers in nursing homes need time and space to share experiences to establish relationships that increase the quality of cooperation. While diversity among healthcare workers in nursing homes can pose challenges, participating in psychosocial competence building interventions like the ICDP can help it to be viewed as a valuable source of inspiration and means of preventing discrimination against migrant healthcare workers. More research is needed regarding how the ICDP can prevent discrimination and underestimation of migrant healthcare workers.