The Retention of Licensed Social Workers in Gerontological Social Work

Purpose: Recruitment and retention of gerontological social workers is a critical concern acknowledged across the continuum of aging services (Stone & Weiner, 2001; Institute of Medicine, 2008; Stone & Harahan, 2010). Although considerable research regarding turnover and retention of social workers exists for many practice areas (Acker, 2004; DePanfilis & Zlotnik, 2008), there is less understanding of the career intentions of gerontological social workers. It is known that attitudes toward the employment setting are important predictors of intent to quit among nursing home practitioners (Simons & Jankowski, 2007). Building on this knowledge, the objective of this study was to identify predictors of retention for licensed social workers in gerontological practice settings. It was hypothesized that all client characteristics, professional experiences, and organizational factors would contribute to the likelihood of social workers expressing a commitment to aging employment.

Methods: A cross-sectional design employed secondary analysis of data collected by the National Association of Social Workers' Center for Workforce Studies for the 2004 National Study of Licensed Social Workers (Whitaker, Weismiller & Clark, 2006). The original research utilized a random sample of 4,489 licensed social workers who completed a mailed survey instrument. The 290 pratitioners who identified aging as their primary field of practice are the focus of this study. Predictor variables represented responses to survey questions regarding professional experiences, such as preparation for practice and ongoing training opportunities; characteristics of the employment setting; and characteristics of clients served in those settings. The dependent variable was anticipation of continuing to work with older adults over the next five years. After data cleaning to target analysis on full-time licensed social workers with a BSW or MSW degree, the sample size was 221. Analytic methods included binary logistic regression, independent samples t-tests, and cross tabulation with chi square. Linear interpolation was utilized to replace missing values for two variables with approximately ten percent missing data.

Results: Professional experiences and organizational factors accounted for 34% of the variance in retention in gerontology; client characteristics did not contribute significantly to the model. The most influential variables included years of experience in gerontology, the number of social workers on staff, and engaging in tasks appropriate to the respondent's level of training and skill. Solo practitioners were 8.48 times more likely to intend to remain in gerontology (p = .013) and social workers who perceived their job tasks as appropriate were 4.61 times more likely to intend to remain (p = .02). Testing interactions between organizational factors and task appropriateness revealed that social workers who perceived they were engaged in tasks appropriate to their skill level also felt that their work setting highly valued social work services (p = .007). Social workers employed in nursing home settings were more likely to be solo practitioners (p = .001).

Implications: Among licensed gerontological social workers, experience, independent practice, and tasks appropriate to training and skill levels contribute to anticipated retention in gerontological practice. These findings can inform the design of social work job duties in aging to retain practitioners.