Do lifestyle factors and general health predict dropout among recently qualified eldercare workers? A two-year follow-up study

BACKGROUND: The eldercare sector in Denmark as in many industrialised countries is characterised by difficulties in retaining labour. Research suggests a possible imbalance between lifestyle and health among eldercare trainees and the demanding work encountered as eldercare employees. The aim of the present study was to determine the predictive effect of lifestyle and self-rated health on dropout from the Danish eldercare sector two years after qualification.

METHODS: We included 4,526 female eldercare trainees in the analyses of lifestyle parameters and 5,023 in the analyses of self-rated health. The participants in this prospective study were recruited from 27 of the 28 Danish colleges for eldercare. We linked survey data with national register data to obtain information about labour market attachment two years after qualification.

RESULTS: The results of the present study showed that the poorer self-rated health, the higher the risk for dropout from the labour market (p < 0.0001). However, the results were less consistent regarding the predictive effect of a detrimental lifestyle. We found that overweight/obesity (p = 0.0021 and p = 0.0012) as well as smoking (p = 0.0017) decreased the risk of dropout from eldercare into education. We found no support for increased likelihood of dropout among physically inactive.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study show that a poorer self-rated health is a predictor for dropout, not only from the eldercare two years after qualification, but from the labour market as a whole. However, the results were less consistent regarding the predictive effect of a detrimental lifestyle on dropout.