Municipality politicians' self-rated knowledge of work environments for key professions within Swedish elder care
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PURPOSE: Municipality politicians in Sweden represent their municipalities as employers, bearing overall legal responsibility for the work environment. This study examines the self-rated knowledge of politicians responsible for elder care in the settings of home care and special housing in Sweden. The study focuses on two aspects of their role: their knowledge regarding the work of the key professionals who deliver elder care services (including care assistants, assistant nurses, registered nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and first-line managers) and their knowledge of their accountability as employers for the work environments.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This quantitative study is based on self-reported responses to a questionnaire from 81 municipality politicians. All of Sweden's 290 municipality political board chairs were invited to participate and asked to extend the invitation to other board members. The study is part of a larger study with a longitudinal single-group pre-post experimental research design that evaluated a digital educational programme regarding organisational and social work environments within elder care, targeting accountable municipality politicians in Sweden.FINDINGS: Politicians may lack knowledge regarding the work of elder care professions and their legal responsibilities as employers. The level of knowledge was higher among board chairs compared to board members. Regardless of political role, knowledge of the work of care assistants and assistant nurses was highest, whilst that of physiotherapists and occupational therapists was lowest.RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The results of this study are based on a questionnaire designed to assess the self-rated knowledge of municipality politicians regarding the work of key professions in elder care within special housing and home care contexts.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: These results highlight the knowledge imbalance between board chairs and board members and are significant because all board members share equal responsibility for the decisions made. Given the limited time board members have to fulfil their political roles, it is essential to consider this constraint when addressing their knowledge needs.SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS: This study provides insights into the self-rated knowledge of municipality politicians responsible for elder care and focuses on two key aspects of their role. Examination of their knowledge of the work performed by key professionals who deliver elder care services indicate differences in knowledge levels based on political roles. Board chairs demonstrate a higher overall degree of knowledge compared to board members.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This research examines the knowledge of municipality politicians accountable for elder care regarding the work of different key professions within elder care, in both special housing and home care contexts as well as their knowledge of work environment legal responsibilities.