Attracting and recruiting dementia care staff - The star study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the potential of Situational judgement Tests for Attracting and Recruiting care home staff suited to caring for people with dementia – Star Study
IRAS ID
341782
Contact name
Kirsty Haunch
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
24/WA/0236,
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
The problem: The care home sector is facing the greatest workforce crisis in history. Simply increasing staff numbers will not solve the problem. News headlines and investigations like the Francis report are a reminder of the consequences of recruiting unsuitable people. It is important to help care homes find new ways to attract and select people to make sure that people with dementia live well in care homes.
The potential: There are tests called situational judgement tests that can offer a reliable way of checking whether applicants are the right fit for dementia care work. Applicants are given scenarios and asked to show how they would deal with a particular situation. Their response gives care home providers an idea of the applicant’s suitability. These tests are used successfully to select people in many other professions but have not yet been adapted for care homes or used to
attract people to roles in care homes.
The benefit: As well as finding staff who will work well in dementia care settings, situational judgement tests can also be used for outreach with local job centres and/or colleges to attract kind, caring and friendly people who may not otherwise be aware of their caring potential. People with dementia and their families can be
reassured that reliable selection methods are being used.
The research: The aim of the project is to adapt situational judgement tests for care homes. There will be four steps: scenario development, response development, testing with people and assessing acceptability.REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/WM/0190
Date of REC Opinion
4 Nov 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion