Supporting the mental wellbeing of aged care workers: A systematic review of factors and interventions

Louise A Ellis; Tanja Schroeder; Maree Saba; Kate Churruca; Janet C Long; Annie Haver; Kristin Akerjordet; Kristiana Ludlow; Inger Johanne Bergerød; Sini Nevantaus; Jan-Willem Weenink; Zoe Gonzales; Samantha Spanos; Hilda Bø Lyng; Cecilie Haraldseid-Driftland; Daniel Adrian Lungu; Malin Knutsen Glette; Mari Lahti; Florin Tibu; Andreas Chatzittofis; Juana Maria Delgado-Saborit; Eila Kankaanpää; Viviana Wuthrich; Robyn Clay-Williams; Jeffrey Braithwaite; Siri Wiig

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2025032

Supporting the mental wellbeing of aged care workers: A systematic review of factors and interventions

Louise A Ellis^*
, Tanja Schroeder
, Maree Saba
, Kate Churruca
, Janet C Long
, Annie Haver
, Kristin Akerjordet
, Kristiana Ludlow
, Inger Johanne Bergerød
, Sini Nevantaus
, Jan-Willem Weenink
, Zoe Gonzales
, Samantha Spanos
, Hilda Bø Lyng
, Cecilie Haraldseid-Driftland
, Daniel Adrian Lungu
, Malin Knutsen Glette
, Mari Lahti
, Florin Tibu
, Andreas Chatzittofis

Juana Maria Delgado-Saborit, Eila Kankaanpää, Viviana Wuthrich, Robyn Clay-Williams, Jeffrey Braithwaite, Siri Wiig

^*Corresponding author for this work

Health Care Governance (HCG)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review

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Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The aged care sector faces significant challenges due to rising demand from aging populations and chronic diseases, in addition to workforce shortages, contributing to staff stress, burnout, and poor mental wellbeing. In this review, we synthesized quantitative studies on factors and interventions to improve the mental wellbeing of the aged care workforce across indicators and system levels.

METHODS:

Five academic databases (Medline, Embase, Scopus, PsycInfo, and CINAHL) were searched from January 2014 to May 2024, using keywords related to aged care, care workers, and mental wellbeing. Quantitative studies examining factors or outcomes of interventions related to staff wellbeing were included. Identified factors were classified as micro-, meso-, and macro-level using a combined inductive and deductive approach.

RESULTS:

Eighty-nine studies were included: 64 (72%) identified significant factors, and 25 (28%) evaluated interventions aiming to improve workers' mental wellbeing. Almost half concentrated on nursing staff (n = 38, 43%), with others addressing direct care workers (n = 25, 28%) or aged care workers more broadly (n = 19, 21%). From the synthesis, a multi-level model of factors affecting aged care worker wellbeing was developed, comprising 11 themes and 39 sub-themes; 3 micro-level themes (1. personal factors, 2. work engagement, and 3. skills and abilities), 6 meso-level themes (4. job demands, 5. professional relations, 6. job control, 7. leadership, 8. professional development, and 9. workplace resources), and 2 macro-level themes (10. policy and regulation and 11. structure and governance). Among the 25 intervention studies, most entailed micro-level changes (n = 24, 96%), including relaxation, emotion regulation, and behavioral management education training.

CONCLUSIONS:

Understanding system-level factors is a key to designing comprehensive improvement approaches. Our new model can help guide organizations in developing targeted strategies to promote mental wellbeing and strengthen care delivery. While individual-focused interventions have shown benefits, organizational and broader system-level strategies to improve mental wellbeing are pivotal for achieving sustainable change.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	600-631
Number of pages	32
Journal	AIMS Public Health
Volume	12
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2025032
Publication status	Published - 2025

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10.3934/publichealth.2025032Licence: CC BY

Supporting the mental wellbeing of aged care workersFinal published version, 1.89 MBLicence: CC BY

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Ellis, L. A., Schroeder, T., Saba, M., Churruca, K., Long, J. C., Haver, A., Akerjordet, K., Ludlow, K., Bergerød, I. J., Nevantaus, S., Weenink, J.-W., Gonzales, Z., Spanos, S., Lyng, H. B., Haraldseid-Driftland, C., Lungu, D. A., Glette, M. K., Lahti, M., Tibu, F., ... Wiig, S. (2025). Supporting the mental wellbeing of aged care workers: A systematic review of factors and interventions. AIMS Public Health, 12(2), 600-631. https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2025032

@article{7265162dca3a4307ac33d5e7262f8773,

title = "Supporting the mental wellbeing of aged care workers: A systematic review of factors and interventions",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: The aged care sector faces significant challenges due to rising demand from aging populations and chronic diseases, in addition to workforce shortages, contributing to staff stress, burnout, and poor mental wellbeing. In this review, we synthesized quantitative studies on factors and interventions to improve the mental wellbeing of the aged care workforce across indicators and system levels.METHODS: Five academic databases (Medline, Embase, Scopus, PsycInfo, and CINAHL) were searched from January 2014 to May 2024, using keywords related to aged care, care workers, and mental wellbeing. Quantitative studies examining factors or outcomes of interventions related to staff wellbeing were included. Identified factors were classified as micro-, meso-, and macro-level using a combined inductive and deductive approach.RESULTS: Eighty-nine studies were included: 64 (72\%) identified significant factors, and 25 (28\%) evaluated interventions aiming to improve workers' mental wellbeing. Almost half concentrated on nursing staff (n = 38, 43\%), with others addressing direct care workers (n = 25, 28\%) or aged care workers more broadly (n = 19, 21\%). From the synthesis, a multi-level model of factors affecting aged care worker wellbeing was developed, comprising 11 themes and 39 sub-themes; 3 micro-level themes (1. personal factors, 2. work engagement, and 3. skills and abilities), 6 meso-level themes (4. job demands, 5. professional relations, 6. job control, 7. leadership, 8. professional development, and 9. workplace resources), and 2 macro-level themes (10. policy and regulation and 11. structure and governance). Among the 25 intervention studies, most entailed micro-level changes (n = 24, 96\%), including relaxation, emotion regulation, and behavioral management education training.CONCLUSIONS: Understanding system-level factors is a key to designing comprehensive improvement approaches. Our new model can help guide organizations in developing targeted strategies to promote mental wellbeing and strengthen care delivery. While individual-focused interventions have shown benefits, organizational and broader system-level strategies to improve mental wellbeing are pivotal for achieving sustainable change.",

author = "Ellis, \{Louise A\} and Tanja Schroeder and Maree Saba and Kate Churruca and Long, \{Janet C\} and Annie Haver and Kristin Akerjordet and Kristiana Ludlow and Berger{\o}d, \{Inger Johanne\} and Sini Nevantaus and Jan-Willem Weenink and Zoe Gonzales and Samantha Spanos and Lyng, \{Hilda B{\o}\} and Cecilie Haraldseid-Driftland and Lungu, \{Daniel Adrian\} and Glette, \{Malin Knutsen\} and Mari Lahti and Florin Tibu and Andreas Chatzittofis and Delgado-Saborit, \{Juana Maria\} and Eila Kankaanp{\"a}{\"a} and Viviana Wuthrich and Robyn Clay-Williams and Jeffrey Braithwaite and Siri Wiig",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2025 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press.",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.3934/publichealth.2025032",

language = "English",

volume = "12",

pages = "600--631",

journal = "AIMS Public Health",

issn = "2327-8994",

publisher = "American Institute of Mathematical Sciences",

number = "2",

}

Ellis, LA, Schroeder, T, Saba, M, Churruca, K, Long, JC, Haver, A, Akerjordet, K, Ludlow, K, Bergerød, IJ, Nevantaus, S, Weenink, J-W, Gonzales, Z, Spanos, S, Lyng, HB, Haraldseid-Driftland, C, Lungu, DA, Glette, MK, Lahti, M, Tibu, F, Chatzittofis, A, Delgado-Saborit, JM, Kankaanpää, E, Wuthrich, V, Clay-Williams, R, Braithwaite, J & Wiig, S 2025, 'Supporting the mental wellbeing of aged care workers: A systematic review of factors and interventions', AIMS Public Health, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 600-631. https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2025032

TY - JOUR

T1 - Supporting the mental wellbeing of aged care workers

T2 - A systematic review of factors and interventions

AU - Ellis, Louise A

AU - Schroeder, Tanja

AU - Saba, Maree

AU - Churruca, Kate

AU - Long, Janet C

AU - Haver, Annie

AU - Akerjordet, Kristin

AU - Ludlow, Kristiana

AU - Bergerød, Inger Johanne

AU - Nevantaus, Sini

AU - Weenink, Jan-Willem

AU - Gonzales, Zoe

AU - Spanos, Samantha

AU - Lyng, Hilda Bø

AU - Haraldseid-Driftland, Cecilie

AU - Lungu, Daniel Adrian

AU - Glette, Malin Knutsen

AU - Lahti, Mari

AU - Tibu, Florin

AU - Chatzittofis, Andreas

AU - Delgado-Saborit, Juana Maria

AU - Kankaanpää, Eila

AU - Wuthrich, Viviana

AU - Clay-Williams, Robyn

AU - Braithwaite, Jeffrey

AU - Wiig, Siri

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - BACKGROUND: The aged care sector faces significant challenges due to rising demand from aging populations and chronic diseases, in addition to workforce shortages, contributing to staff stress, burnout, and poor mental wellbeing. In this review, we synthesized quantitative studies on factors and interventions to improve the mental wellbeing of the aged care workforce across indicators and system levels.METHODS: Five academic databases (Medline, Embase, Scopus, PsycInfo, and CINAHL) were searched from January 2014 to May 2024, using keywords related to aged care, care workers, and mental wellbeing. Quantitative studies examining factors or outcomes of interventions related to staff wellbeing were included. Identified factors were classified as micro-, meso-, and macro-level using a combined inductive and deductive approach.RESULTS: Eighty-nine studies were included: 64 (72%) identified significant factors, and 25 (28%) evaluated interventions aiming to improve workers' mental wellbeing. Almost half concentrated on nursing staff (n = 38, 43%), with others addressing direct care workers (n = 25, 28%) or aged care workers more broadly (n = 19, 21%). From the synthesis, a multi-level model of factors affecting aged care worker wellbeing was developed, comprising 11 themes and 39 sub-themes; 3 micro-level themes (1. personal factors, 2. work engagement, and 3. skills and abilities), 6 meso-level themes (4. job demands, 5. professional relations, 6. job control, 7. leadership, 8. professional development, and 9. workplace resources), and 2 macro-level themes (10. policy and regulation and 11. structure and governance). Among the 25 intervention studies, most entailed micro-level changes (n = 24, 96%), including relaxation, emotion regulation, and behavioral management education training.CONCLUSIONS: Understanding system-level factors is a key to designing comprehensive improvement approaches. Our new model can help guide organizations in developing targeted strategies to promote mental wellbeing and strengthen care delivery. While individual-focused interventions have shown benefits, organizational and broader system-level strategies to improve mental wellbeing are pivotal for achieving sustainable change.

AB - BACKGROUND: The aged care sector faces significant challenges due to rising demand from aging populations and chronic diseases, in addition to workforce shortages, contributing to staff stress, burnout, and poor mental wellbeing. In this review, we synthesized quantitative studies on factors and interventions to improve the mental wellbeing of the aged care workforce across indicators and system levels.METHODS: Five academic databases (Medline, Embase, Scopus, PsycInfo, and CINAHL) were searched from January 2014 to May 2024, using keywords related to aged care, care workers, and mental wellbeing. Quantitative studies examining factors or outcomes of interventions related to staff wellbeing were included. Identified factors were classified as micro-, meso-, and macro-level using a combined inductive and deductive approach.RESULTS: Eighty-nine studies were included: 64 (72%) identified significant factors, and 25 (28%) evaluated interventions aiming to improve workers' mental wellbeing. Almost half concentrated on nursing staff (n = 38, 43%), with others addressing direct care workers (n = 25, 28%) or aged care workers more broadly (n = 19, 21%). From the synthesis, a multi-level model of factors affecting aged care worker wellbeing was developed, comprising 11 themes and 39 sub-themes; 3 micro-level themes (1. personal factors, 2. work engagement, and 3. skills and abilities), 6 meso-level themes (4. job demands, 5. professional relations, 6. job control, 7. leadership, 8. professional development, and 9. workplace resources), and 2 macro-level themes (10. policy and regulation and 11. structure and governance). Among the 25 intervention studies, most entailed micro-level changes (n = 24, 96%), including relaxation, emotion regulation, and behavioral management education training.CONCLUSIONS: Understanding system-level factors is a key to designing comprehensive improvement approaches. Our new model can help guide organizations in developing targeted strategies to promote mental wellbeing and strengthen care delivery. While individual-focused interventions have shown benefits, organizational and broader system-level strategies to improve mental wellbeing are pivotal for achieving sustainable change.

U2 - 10.3934/publichealth.2025032

DO - 10.3934/publichealth.2025032

M3 - Review article

C2 - 40697262

SN - 2327-8994

VL - 12

SP - 600

EP - 631

JO - AIMS Public Health

JF - AIMS Public Health

IS - 2

ER -

Supporting the mental wellbeing of aged care workers: A systematic review of factors and interventions

Abstract

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