Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar;67(1-2):220-236.
doi: 10.1002/ajcp.12470. Epub 2020 Nov 2.

Factors Associated with Providers' Work Engagement and Burnout in Homeless Services: A Cross-national Study

Michela Lenzi  1 , Massimo Santinello  1 , Marta Gaboardi  1 , Francesca Disperati  1 , Alessio Vieno  1 , Antonio Calcagnì  1 , Ronni Michelle Greenwood  2 , Aleksandra M Rogowska  3 , Judith R Wolf  4   5 , Sandrine Loubière  6   7 , Ulla Beijer  8 , Roberto Bernad  9 , Maria J Vargas-Moniz  10 , José Ornelas  10 , Freek Spinnewijn  11 , Marybeth Shinn  12 ; HOME_EU Consortium Study Group
Affiliations

Factors Associated with Providers' Work Engagement and Burnout in Homeless Services: A Cross-national Study

Michela Lenzi et al. Am J Community Psychol. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

The complexity of homeless service users' characteristics and the contextual challenges faced by services can make the experience of working with people in homelessness stressful and can put providers' well-being at risk. In the current study, we investigated the association between service characteristics (i.e., the availability of training and supervision and the capability-fostering approach) and social service providers' work engagement and burnout. The study involved 497 social service providers working in homeless services in eight different European countries (62% women; mean age = 40.73, SD = 10.45) and was part of the Horizon 2020 European study "Homelessness as Unfairness (HOME_EU)." Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), findings showed that the availability of training and supervision were positively associated with providers' work engagement and negatively associated with burnout. However, results varied based on the perceived usefulness of the training and supervision provided within the service and the specific outcome considered. The most consistent finding was the association between the degree to which a service promotes users' capabilities and all the aspects of providers' well-being analyzed. Results are discussed in relation to their implications for how configuration of homeless services can promote social service providers' well-being and high-quality care.

Keywords: Burnout; Capabilities; Homelessness; Service; Supervision; Training.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Adams, R. E., Boscarino, J. A., & Figley, C. R. (2006). Compassion fatigue and psychological distress among social workers: A validation study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76, 103-108.
    1. Aldridge, R. W., Story, A., Hwang, S. W., Nordentoft, M., Luchenski, S. A., Hartwell, G., … & Hayward, A. C. (2018). Morbidity and mortality in homeless individuals, prisoners, sex workers, and individuals with substance use disorders in high-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 391, 241-250.
    1. Archard, P. J., & Murphy, D. (2015). A practice research study concerning homeless service user involvement with a programme of social support work delivered in a specialized psychological trauma service. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 22, 360-370.
    1. Baird, K., & Kracen, A. C. (2006). Vicarious traumatization and secondary traumatic stress: A research synthesis. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 19, 181-188.
    1. Bakker, A. B., Albrecht, S. L., & Leiter, M. P. (2011). Key questions regarding work engagement. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 20, 4-28.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources