Table 1.
Survey Items and Sample Statistics
| Variable | Description | Mean (SD) or percent | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome variables | |||
| Intent: current job | I intend to remain in my current position for the near future (4-point scale, where strongly agree = 4) | 2.84 (.93) | 1-4 |
| Intent: nursing assistant | Three years from now, I would still like to be working as a nursing assistant (4-point scale, where strongly agree = 4) | 2.59 (1.1) | 1-4 |
| Intent: stay in field | Do you think you will be working in the field of LTC 3 years from now? (1 = yes) | 0.61 (.49) | 0-1 |
| Retention | Still employed at facility 1 year later (1 = yes) | 0.86 (.33) | 0-1 |
| Job satisfaction and perceived job characteristics (sample items only) | |||
| Job satisfaction (four items; alpha = 0.79) | On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being very dissatisfied and 10 being very satisfied, how satisfied are you with your current car- egiving position? | 7.19 (1.77) | 1-10 |
| My job measures up to the sort of job I wanted when I took it (Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, and Strongly Agree) | |||
| Supervisor support (eight items; alpha = 0.91) | My supervisor treats me as an equal member of the health care team | 1.35 (.56) | 0-2 |
| My supervisor listens carefully to my observations and opinions | |||
| Workload (three items; alpha = 0.76) | I am physically exhausted at the end of a shift | 2.74 (.59) | 1-4 |
| I am asked to do more work than I can handle | |||
| Financial rewards (three items; alpha = 0.74) | The pay is good | 2.43 (.87) | 1-4 |
| The job security is good | |||
| Career rewards (three items; alpha = 0.78) | The chances for promotion are good | 2.22 (.84) | 1-4 |
| Promotions are handled fairly | |||
| Quality of coworkers (nine items; alpha = 0.80) | Sometimes our nursing assistants take out their bad days on the patients | 2.70 (.50) | 1-4 |
| Some nursing assistants act hostile toward patients | |||
| Perceived quality of care (16 items; alpha = 0.90) | I try to keep the patients' routines in place when caring for them | 3.45 (.36) | 1-4 |
| I treat patients like I would like to be treated | |||
| Team care (four items; alpha = 0.75) | Patients' rooms are kept clean here | 2.84 (.56) | 1-4 |
| All nursing personnel here take responsibility for answering call lights | |||
| Contingencies | |||
| Breadwinner | Indicates whether or not the respondent considers their wages to be the primary source of income for their family (yes = 1) | 60% | 0-1 |
| Single mother | Indicates if the respondent cares for children under 18 who live in the home and is not married (yes = 1) | 31% | 0-1 |
| Public assistance | Indicates whether or not the nursing assistant has received financial assistance from any public source within the last 3 years (yes = 1) | 30% | 0-1 |
| Health insurance | Indicates if the respondent has health insurance from any source (yes = 1) | 78% | 0-1 |
| Individual characteristics | |||
| Age | Age of survey respondent. Logged age is used in all models. | 37.7 (12.9) | 17-72 |
| Female | Indicates whether individual is 0) male or 1) female. | 95% | 0-1 |
| Black | Indicates if respondent is 0) white or 1) black | 50% | 0-1 |
| Other minority | Indicates if respondent is 0) white or 1) other minority | 6% | 0-1 |
| High school degree or less | Recipient of 0) more than 12 years of education, or 1) a high school degree or less | 83% | 0-1 |
| Tenure | The number of years and months that the nursing assistant has been employed at the facility | 4.1 (5.0) | 0.08-32.2 |
| Past job in health care | Indicates if the respondent has held a job in health care prior to her or her current position (yes = 1) | 65% | 0-1 |
| Organizational characteristics | |||
| For-profit | Indicates whether the facility is 0) nonprofit or public or 1) for-profit | 81% | 0-1 |
| Number of beds | Number of licensed beds in facility | 115 (37.4) | 47-180 |
| Economic characteristics | |||
| Unemployment rate | Unemployment rate in the Workforce Development Region | 6.2 (1.1) | 4.6-7.5 |
| Comparable income | The median income of nonactive aides minus the median income of active aides in the Workforce Development Region | $1,541 (1,123) | -778 to 4626 |
N = 315.