Factors affecting professional autonomy in certified care workers

Abstract

[Objective] This study investigates the professional autonomy of certified care workers and the factors that affect it. [Method] An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted with 2,000 certified care workers in 400 special nursing-care homes for the aged. Applying a professional autonomy scale for certified care workers, relationships with demographic characteristics and job satisfaction were analyzed. [Result] The analysis targeted 318 people (178 women and 140 men). They featured significant differences in terms of their professional autonomy in relation to their gender and years of experience in the care and welfare profession. A logistic regression analysis showed that female respondents’ professional autonomy was 2.405 times that of male respondents; likewise, it was also 5.823 times higher for respondents with 25–29 years of experience than those with less work experience, and it was 7.040 times higher for respondents with than those without high job satisfaction. [Conclusion] These findings suggest that the professional autonomy of certified care workers may be affected by gender, experience working as a care worker, and job satisfaction. The professional autonomy of certified care workers is particularly high in workers with the following characteristics: female gender, having a longer work experience as care workers, and being satisfied with the job.