Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T07:44:35.326Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A qualitative study into the prospect of working longer for physiotherapists in the United Kingdom's National Health Service

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2017

DEBORAH ROY ,
ANDREW WEYMAN ,
ANITHA GEORGE  and
NATHAN HUDSON-SHARP
DEBORAH ROY*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, UK.
ANDREW WEYMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, UK.
ANITHA GEORGE
Affiliation:
National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London, UK.
NATHAN HUDSON-SHARP
Affiliation:
National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Deborah Roy, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Little is known about the perspectives of health-care workers when it comes to prolonging their working lives. This exploratory paper focuses on physiotherapists and aims to offer new insights into the underlying processes that may influence perceptions of ageing and how they impact on motivation to work longer. Data gathering took the form of focus groups with 43 National Health Service physiotherapists. A thematic analysis was used to characterise and articulate key concepts and meanings. The analysis applied interpretive techniques. The six headline themes to emerge were: worry over physical capability and ability to cope; the need to maintain a professional image; work, retirement and exit norms; beliefs about ageing; extrinsic job demands; organisational support – line management; and organisational support – career progression. The key findings suggest that the current unchanging context of high job demands is very salient, consequently resulting in negative and pessimistic feelings about capabilities when it comes to being an older worker and having an extended working life.

Keywords

extending working lifeageing workforcephysiotherapysocially situated cognitionageing self-identityline management
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 38 , Issue 8 , August 2018 , pp. 1693 - 1714
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, K., Peters, S. and Chipchase, L. 2013. Knowledge, skills and professional behaviours required by occupational therapist and physiotherapist beginning practitioners in work-related practice: a systematic review. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 60, 2, 76–84.Google Scholar
Aguilar, A., Stupans, I., Scutter, S. and King, S. 2013. What do you think we value: exploring how Australian occupational therapists and physiotherapists understand each other's values. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 28, 1, 15–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Physical Therapy Association 2009. Today's Physical Therapist: A Comprehensive Review of a 21st-century Health Care Profession. Available online at http://www.moveforwardpt.com/ForHealthCareProfessionals.aspx [Accessed 27 January 2017].Google Scholar
Australian Public Safety Commission 2010. A Guide to Managing an Ageing Workforce. Available online at https://publicsector.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/guide_to_managing_an_ageing_workforce.pdf [Accessed 27 January 2017].Google Scholar
Aydede, M. and Robbins, P. (eds) 2009. The Cambridge Handbook of Situated Cognition. Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Baucknecht, J. and Cebulla, A. 2016. Extending working lives: sticks and carrots to get the older unemployed back into employment. Intereconomics, 51, 3, 134–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohle, P., Pitts, C. and Quinlan, M. 2010. Time to call it quits? The safety and health of older workers. International Journal of Health Services, 40, 1, 23–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boorman, S. 2009. Final Report of the Independent NHS Health and Well-being Review. Available online at http://journals.rcni.com/doi/abs/10.7748/nm2012.10.19.6.27.c9319 [Accessed 19 September 2015].Google Scholar
Bork, B. E., Cook, T. M., Rosecrance, J. C. and Engelhardt, K. A. 1996. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among physical therapists. Physiotherapy, 76, 8, 827–35.Google Scholar
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 2, 77–101.Google Scholar
Coggon, G. N., Vargas Prada, S., Martinez, J. M., Serra, C., Benavides, F. G. and Palmer, K. T. 2013. International variation in absence from work attributed to musculoskeletal illness: findings from the CUPID study. Occupational Environmental Medicine, 70, 8, 575–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Costa, G. and Di Milia, L. 2008. Ageing and shift work: a complex problem to face. Chronobiology International, 25, 2/3, 165–81.Google Scholar
Costa, G. and Sartori, S. 2007. Ageing working hours and workability. Ergonomics, 50, 11, 1914–30.Google Scholar
Cox, S. and Flin, R. 1998. Safety culture: philosopher's stone or man of straw? Work & Stress, 12, 3, 189–201.Google Scholar
Crawford, J. A., Shafrir, A., Graveling, R., Dixon, K. and Cowie, C. 2009. A systematic review of the health of health practitioners. Strategic Consulting Report 603–00525, The Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh. Available online at http://www.champspublichealth.com/writedir/ee61A%20Systematic%20Review%20of%20the%20Health%20of%20Health%20Practitioners%20-%20June%202009.pdf [Accessed 22 February 2017].Google Scholar
Cromie, J. E., Robertson, V. J. and Best, M. O. 2002. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in physical therapists. Physical Therapy, 82, 5, 459–72.Google Scholar
Crouch, M. and McKenzie, H. 2006. The logic of small samples in interview based qualitative research. Social Science Information, 45, 4, 483–99.Google Scholar
Dahlgren, L., Emmelin, M. and Winkvist, A. 2004. Qualitative Methodology for International Public Health. Umeå International School of Public Health, Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.Google Scholar
Darragh, A. R., Campo, M. and Olson, D. 2009. Therapy practice within a minimal lift environment: perceptions of therapy staff. Journal of Prevention Assessment & Rehabilitation, 33, 3, 241–53.Google Scholar
DeJoy, D. M. 1994. Managing safety in the workplace: an attribution theory analysis and model. Journal of Safety Research, 25, 1, 3–17.Google Scholar
Department for Work and Pensions 2014. Fuller Working Lives: A Framework for Action. Department for Work and Pensions, London.Google Scholar
Draper, B., Gething, L., Fethney, J. and Winfield, S. 1999. The Senior Psychiatrist Survey III: attitudes towards personal ageing, life experiences and psychiatric practice. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 33, 5, 717–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fillit, H. M., Butler, R. N., O'Connell, A. W., Albert, M. S., Birren, J. E., Cotman, C. W., Greenough, W. T., Gold, P. E., Kramer, A. F., Kuller, L. H., Perls, T. T., Sahagan, B. G. and Tully, C. 2002. Achieving and maintaining cognitive vitality with aging. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 77, 7, 681–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gething, L., Fethney, J., McKee, K., Goff, M., Churchward, M. and Matthews, S. 2002. Knowledge, stereotyping and attitudes towards self-ageing. Australasian Journal of Ageing, 21, 2, 74–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giles, L. C., Paterson, J. E., Butler, S. J. and Stewart, J. J 2002. Ageism among health professionals: a comparison of clinical educators and students in physical and occupational therapy. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 21, 2, 15–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glover, W., McGregor, A., Sullivan, C. and Hague, J. 2005. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders affecting members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Physiotherapy, 91, 3, 138–47.Google Scholar
Green, F. and McIntosh, S. 2001. The intensification of work in Europe. Labour Economics, 8, 2, 291–308.Google Scholar
Griffiths, A. 2000. Designing and managing healthy work for older workers. Occupational Medicine, 50, 7, 473–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Griffiths, E. and Long, C. 2013. Britain's ageing NHS workforce. Occupational Health, 67, 7, 18–20.Google Scholar
Haslam, S. A., Jetten, J., Postmes, T. and Haslam, C. 2009. Social identity, health and well-being: an emerging agenda for applied psychology. Applied Psychology, 58, 1, 1–23.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, S. and Purcell, S. 2010. Managing ward managers for roles in HRM in the NHS: overworked and under-resourced. Human Resource Management Journal, 20, 4, 357–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutton, J. 2011. Independent Public Service Pensions Commission: Final Report.Google Scholar
Ilmarinen, J. E. 2001. Ageing workers. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 58, 8, 546–52.Google Scholar
Jacobson, B. F. 1980. Role models concepts before and after the formal professional socialization period. Physical Therapy, 60, 2, 188–93.Google Scholar
Kinder, T. 2013. Evolving accountabilities, experiences and prospects from Scottish Public Services. In Ball, A. and Osborne, S. (eds), Social Accounting and Public Management: Accountability for the Common Good. Routledge, New York, 147–64.Google Scholar
Kooij, D., de Lange, A., Jansen, P. and Dikkers, J. 2007. Older workers’ motivation to continue to work: five meanings of age. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23, 4, 364–94.Google Scholar
Leisink, P. L. M. and Knies, P. 2011. Line managers’ support for older workers. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22, 9, 1902–17.Google Scholar
Liu, Y. E., Norman, I. J. and While, A. E. 2015. Nurses’ attitudes towards older people and working with older patients: an explanatory model. Journal of Nursing Management, 23, 8, 965–73.Google Scholar
Mackay, C. J., Cousins, R., Kelly, P. J., Lee, S. and McCaig, R. H. 2004. Management standards’ and work-related stress in the UK: policy background and science. Work and Stress, 18, 2, 91–112.Google Scholar
Mandy, A., Lucas, K. and Hodgson, L 2007. Clinical educators’ reactions to ageing. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 5, 4, 1–14.Google Scholar
McMahon, M., Stiller, K. and Trott, P. 2006. The prevalence of thumb problems in Australian physiotherapists is high: an observational study. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 52, 4, 287–92.Google Scholar
Menzel, S. M., Brooks, T. E., Bernard, A. N. and Nelson, A. 2004. The physical workload of nursing personnel: association with musculoskeletal discomfort. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 41, 8, 859–67.Google Scholar
Morgan, D. L. 1996. Focus groups. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 1, 129–52.Google Scholar
National Programme on Ageing Workers 2002. National Programme on Ageing Workers, Helsinki, 12–13 October. Available online at https://www.julkari.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/126649/Selv200205.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed 27 January 2017].Google Scholar
Nicholson, P. J., Mayho, G., Robson, S. A. and Sharp, C. 2016. Ageing and the Workplace. BMA, London.Google Scholar
Nilsson, K., Hydbom, A. R. and Rylander, R. 2016. How are self-rated health and diagnosed disease related to early or deferred retirement? A cross-sectional study of employees aged 55–64. BioMed Central Public Health, 16, 1, 886.Google Scholar
Nuñez, I. 2010. The effects of age on health problems that affect the capacity to work: an analysis of United Kingdom labour-force data. Ageing & Society, 30, 3, 491–510.Google Scholar
Power, M. 2004. The Risk Management of Everything: Rethinking the Politics of Uncertainty. Demos, London.Google Scholar
Purcell, J. and Hutchinson, S. 2007. Front-line managers as agents in the HRM–performance causal chain: theory, analysis and evidence. Human Resource Management Journal, 17, 1, 3–20.Google Scholar
Redfern, N. and Gallagher, P. 2014. The ageing anaesthetist. Anaesthesia, 69, 1, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saksvik, I. B., Bjorvatn, B., Hetland, H., Sandal, G. M. and Pallesen, P. 2011. Individual differences in tolerance to shift work: a systematic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 15, 4, 221–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saxon, R. L., Gray, M. A. and Oprescu, F. I. 2014. Extended roles for allied health professionals: an updated systematic review of the evidence. Journal of Multi-disciplinary Healthcare, 7, 479–88.Google Scholar
Semin, G. R. and Smith, E. R. 2013. Socially situated cognition in perspective. Social Cognition, 31, 2, 125–46.Google Scholar
Sherman, R. 2006. Leading a multigenerational nursing workforce: issues, challenges and strategies. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 11, 2, Article 2.Google Scholar
Smith, E. R. and Semin, G. R 2004. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 36, 1, 53–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stajkovic, A. D. 2006. Development of a core confidence–higher order construct. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 6, 1208–24.Google Scholar
Vasconcelos, A. F. 2013. Older workers: some critical societal and organizational challenges. Journal of Management Development, 34, 3, 352–72.Google Scholar
Walker, A. and Taylor, P. (eds) 1998. Combating Age Barriers in Employment: European Portfolio of Good Practice. European Foundation, Dublin.Google Scholar
Webb, S. 2006. Social Work in a Risk Society: Social and Political Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.Google Scholar
Westerhof, G. J., Whitbourne, S. K. and Freeman, G. P. 2012. The aging self in a cultural context: the relation of conceptions of aging to identity processes and self-esteem in the United States and the Netherlands. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 67B, 1, 52–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weyman, A., Meadows, P. and Buckingham, A 2013. Extending Working Life: Audit of Research Relating to Impacts on NHS Employees. NHS Employers, London.Google Scholar
Yeomans, L. 2011. An Update of the Literature on Age and Employment. Health and Safety Executive, Buxton, UK.Google Scholar