Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Purpose: (This abstract is based on preliminary analysis of data for 121 casemanagers. After data collection is completed, results may vary somewhat from these findings.) This study examined the impact of disaster work on casemanagers providing services to Hurricane Katrina survivors. Specifically, the research examined the associations among casemanager demographics, spirituality, hurricane survivor status, stress management, and workplace and community characteristics as predictors of burnout, job satisfaction and intention to leave. These findings identify factors that improve casemanager job satisfaction and retention in the context of disaster relief. As prior research among organizational features, service quality and client outcomes have indicated (Glisson 1998; Poertner 1998), this research contributes to further understanding of organizational and casemanager characteristics that can influence service quality. Methods: A mixed-methods study with 121 casemanagers providing services to hurricane survivors was conducted. The total population of 298 Katrina Aid Today casemanagers and supervisors were contacted through email and postal mail asking for their participation. We obtained a 44% response rate for the online survey and a 56% response rate for the telephone interviews. The online survey contained the Job Satisfaction Scale (Spector 1985) and the ProQOL-III (Stamm 2005). A third scale was developed to assess Intention to Leave. Each scale was analyzed as a single index measure, with sufficiently high alpha reliability. Respondents also provided information on demographic and workplace characteristics, stress management techniques, survivor status, and personal beliefs such as spirituality. The online survey data were analyzed using SPSS V14.0. Ordinary least squares regression was used to develop separate predictive models for burnout, job satisfaction and intention to leave. The qualitative interview data were transcribed, coded and analyzed for contextual issues that impact burnout, job satisfaction and intention to leave. Results: Preliminary results indicate that discussing issues with a supervisor was most effective at preventing burnout (p<.001). Further, several other factors contributed to burnout: lack of community resources (p=.019), casemanagers' identity as spiritual/religious persons (p=.007), and casemanagers' belief that experience as a hurricane survivor is an asset in working with clients (p=.042). Higher job satisfaction was associated with stronger belief that the community has enough resources for clients (p=.011), and that experience as a hurricane survivor is an asset in work with clients (p=.038). Characteristics of casemanagers associated with greater intention to leave included those with higher levels of burnout (p=.005), not liking/enjoying the people one works with (p=.03), and dissatisfaction with the nature of the work (p<.001). Qualitative interviews supported these findings by illustrating survivor and contextual characteristics comprising successful and challenging cases, and identifying the complex role of “culture” in the casemanager/client relationship. Implications: These findings illustrate factors that may influence disaster casemanagers' burnout, job satisfaction, and intention to leave. Understanding how to protect against burnout, and improve job satisfaction can help disaster assistance organizations improve retention of their casemanagers. Additional attention should be paid to the supervision given to casemanagers and the quality of interpersonal relations among agency staff to improve retention of casemanagers. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.