Long-term Care Staff Quality of Work Life in Atlantic Canada (QWL-AC) 
Data collection completed May 31, 2024
A total of 2305 staff surveys collected
In-person Research Team Meeting at MSVU June 5th & 6th, 2025
Project Title: An Underrepresented, Undervalued Workforce: Understanding and Supporting Quality of Work Life in Long-term Care
CIHR funded April 2023 – March 2027
WHAT
This study, An Underrepresented, Undervalued Workforce: Understanding and Supporting Quality of Work Life in Long-term Care, seeks to understand how the conditions of work in Atlantic Canadian long-term care (LTC) may affect the conditions of care of the residents. The study is assessing how work environment impacts the quality of work life (QWL) of staff in LTC and ultimately, resident quality of care outcomes in Atlantic Canada. The work extends research happening in Western Canada through the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) program.
WHO
This study is being led by Dr. Janice Keefe, Mount Saint Vincent University, and co-led by Dr. Rick Audas, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Dr. Carole Estabrooks, University of Alberta, Dr. Rose McCloskey, University of New Brunswick, and Dr. Gail Tomblin-Murphy, Dalhousie University with co-investigators from various disciplines and universities, and knowledge users and sector collaborators from across the Atlantic region. Dr. Keefe and colleagues were awarded a $2.1 million CIHR project grant in April 2023 for this multi-site study. The study is funded from April 2023- March 2027.
HOW
The research team surveyed a mix of LTC staff including care aids, nurses, allied health professionals, and managers in 53 randomly selected care homes across Atlantic Canada using established survey tools from TREC. Staff were asked questions about their physical and mental health, and key features about their work environment. 25% of eligible care homes in New Brunswick (NB) and Nova Scotia (NS) were recruited with Newfoundland & Labrador (NL) and Prince Edward Island (PE) over sampled to obtain a minimum of 8 care homes per province.
Relationships between staff QWL and resident outcomes will be examined by linking staff survey results with resident assessment data (interRAI). Linking data will help us understand if or how the working environment affects the quality of care received by LTC residents.
WHEN
This project is funded from April 2023 to March 2027. Data collection with LTC staff took place November 2023 – May 2024. InterRAI data will also be collected to be linked to staff working conditions to understand the relationship of work environment on resident quality of care. Dissemination activities for the project include publishing in academic journals, presentations at scholarly conferences, and webinars. InterRAI data will be collected and linked to staff working conditions to understand the relationship of work environment on resident quality of care.
Study Timeline:
Contacts:
Paula Richardson, Atlantic Region Project Manager Email: arcltc@msvu.ca Telephone: 902-457-6235
Emily Hubley, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Coordinator Email: Emily.Hubley1@msvu.ca
Jane Logan, New Brunswick Coordinator Email: e.logan@unb.ca
Annika Wiebe, New Brunswick Coordinator Email: annika.wiebe@msvu.ca
Funded by CIHR and partner funders:
– NB Lead, Rose McCloskey and research staff Emily Hubley and Annika Wiebe at an information table at the Aging Care and Research Symposium on September 26th in Fredericton, NB.