Help-seeking and use of Workplace Services for Emotional Needs among Community Residential Staff who Support Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Aggressive Behaviour

Community workers supporting adults with intellectual disability get a lot of positive impact from their work. However, staff are also required to deal with challenges such as aggressive behaviours which can be associated with burnout. This thesis used a cross-sectional mixed methods design consisting of survey data analysis and qualitative interviews. The study aims were to examine staff report of emotional difficulties related to working with aggressive behaviours and use of available workplace resources. Staff frequently reported experiencing emotional difficulties; however use of workplace resources was low. Findings fit within existing models of general health service utilization with workplace resource use affected by: preventing and coping, severity threshold, enabling factors and cost versus benefit appraisal. Some unique factors included o-worker relationships, finding relief, lacking or inflexible rules and organizational focus on the service recipients. Multi-faceted interventions are likely to be the most successful in improving staff and related organizational outcomes.MAS