Finding meaning in the experience of dementia: The place of spiritual reminiscence work. This project will use spiritual reminiscence work to study the experience of dementia and the spiritual dimension focussing on how people with dementia find meaning and develop coping strategies. Dementia is a significant issue for an ageing society where estimates of prevalence indicate a rise of 254% from 1995-2041. The greatest challenge to people diagnosed with dementia is their search for meaning lead ....Finding meaning in the experience of dementia: The place of spiritual reminiscence work. This project will use spiritual reminiscence work to study the experience of dementia and the spiritual dimension focussing on how people with dementia find meaning and develop coping strategies. Dementia is a significant issue for an ageing society where estimates of prevalence indicate a rise of 254% from 1995-2041. The greatest challenge to people diagnosed with dementia is their search for meaning leading to the development of effective coping strategies as their memory loss and confusion progresses. Outcomes will impact on persons with dementia, staff and carers, with improved quality of life for allRead moreRead less
Food services in residential aged care: Financial, personnel, and service delivery factors. Evaluating current services to identify systems that deliver satisfying, effective, high quality care to vulnerable older Australians in aged care facilities (ACFs) is of national significance. If residents are more satisfied with their meals, their nutritional status will either improve or stabilise, reducing their risk of malnutrition-related morbidity and mortality and the associated financial burden t ....Food services in residential aged care: Financial, personnel, and service delivery factors. Evaluating current services to identify systems that deliver satisfying, effective, high quality care to vulnerable older Australians in aged care facilities (ACFs) is of national significance. If residents are more satisfied with their meals, their nutritional status will either improve or stabilise, reducing their risk of malnutrition-related morbidity and mortality and the associated financial burden to health care services. The cost of residential aged care is significant and growing and is subject to increased monitoring and concern. This project will suggest refinements of the Aged Care Accreditation Standards to improve their applicability to ACF residents and appropriateness for evaluating resident-focused nutritional care.Read moreRead less
Moving beyond crisis management: Creating a future for people with disabilities living with ageing parents. The needs of thousands of people with disabilities being cared for by ageing parents are beyond the capacity of our existing formal mechanisms for providing care. In order to mitigate this national crisis in support, this research will establish effective, resource efficient support strategies where there are currently no plans in place for future care arrangements. By enhancing the capaci ....Moving beyond crisis management: Creating a future for people with disabilities living with ageing parents. The needs of thousands of people with disabilities being cared for by ageing parents are beyond the capacity of our existing formal mechanisms for providing care. In order to mitigate this national crisis in support, this research will establish effective, resource efficient support strategies where there are currently no plans in place for future care arrangements. By enhancing the capacity of the community to provide support the benefit of existing formal supports will be extended to address the needs of more families. This project will position Australian disability research and support at the forefront of international efforts to legitimize the claim of people with disabilities and their families on community resources.Read moreRead less
Strengthening leadership capacity in Australia's rapidly changing aged and community care sector. The project supports the priorities of: ageing well and promoting an innovative culture and economy and links to the goal of social inclusion. It will contribute significantly towards improved performance and efficiency in an increasingly important sector which contributes to the national economy and provides both care and employment to many Australians. Rapidly increasing demands and challenges r ....Strengthening leadership capacity in Australia's rapidly changing aged and community care sector. The project supports the priorities of: ageing well and promoting an innovative culture and economy and links to the goal of social inclusion. It will contribute significantly towards improved performance and efficiency in an increasingly important sector which contributes to the national economy and provides both care and employment to many Australians. Rapidly increasing demands and challenges require effective, competent leadership to deal with competing tensions, in turn resulting in a more resilient and sustainable industry. This will contribute to more stability, reduced staff turnover and improved outcomes for residents/clients, including through new and innovative workplace culture and practices.Read moreRead less
Accommodating the Needs of People with Lifelong Intellectual Disability in Residential Aged Care. Unique challenges face the residential aged care system because of the increased life expectancy of people with life-long intellectual disability and the likelihood of their premature ageing. Although this group is recognised by Federal and State governments as requiring specific and special service arrangements, little is known about adapting disability and aged care services to their needs, thus p ....Accommodating the Needs of People with Lifelong Intellectual Disability in Residential Aged Care. Unique challenges face the residential aged care system because of the increased life expectancy of people with life-long intellectual disability and the likelihood of their premature ageing. Although this group is recognised by Federal and State governments as requiring specific and special service arrangements, little is known about adapting disability and aged care services to their needs, thus program development is in its early stages. This research will inform the development of policy and programs in the Aged Care, Disability and Health sectors with the aim of improving the quality of life for people with intellectual disability as they age.Read moreRead less
Increasing organisational capacity of community residential units to facilitate ageing in place for people with intellectual disability. Unique challenges face the disability, aged care and health sectors because of the increased life expectancy of people with life-long intellectual disability (ID) and the likelihood of their premature ageing. Although this group is recognised by Federal and State governments as requiring specific and special service arrangements, little is known about adapting ....Increasing organisational capacity of community residential units to facilitate ageing in place for people with intellectual disability. Unique challenges face the disability, aged care and health sectors because of the increased life expectancy of people with life-long intellectual disability (ID) and the likelihood of their premature ageing. Although this group is recognised by Federal and State governments as requiring specific and special service arrangements, little is known about adapting disability and aged care services to their needs. This research will inform the development of policy and programs in the disability, aged care, and health sectors. The research aims to improve the capacity of disability group homes to respond to the health and ageing issues of older people with ID,to improve their quality of life.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of a Training Program for Staff to Recognize Depression Among Aged People Living in Residential and Community Care. Depression is a significant problem among older people, and is likely to increase in prevalence with the aging of the population. A large percentage of depressed older people fail to receive treatment because their depression is not diagnosed. This illness leads to high economic and social costs if it is not diagnosed and treated. This project will evaluate the effective ....Evaluation of a Training Program for Staff to Recognize Depression Among Aged People Living in Residential and Community Care. Depression is a significant problem among older people, and is likely to increase in prevalence with the aging of the population. A large percentage of depressed older people fail to receive treatment because their depression is not diagnosed. This illness leads to high economic and social costs if it is not diagnosed and treated. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of a training program to assist carers to detect depression, and so refer older people for treatment of this condition. Read moreRead less
Development of domain information model for aged & community care in Australia. The aim of this research is to develop a care-oriented reference information and communication model (RIM) that will inform national policy for the development of a national information technology strategic plan for aged care. The model will reflect the domain specific content and work of service providers and consumers in the aged and community care context and the unique cultural, social and professional attributes ....Development of domain information model for aged & community care in Australia. The aim of this research is to develop a care-oriented reference information and communication model (RIM) that will inform national policy for the development of a national information technology strategic plan for aged care. The model will reflect the domain specific content and work of service providers and consumers in the aged and community care context and the unique cultural, social and professional attributes of this sector. The model will be used to evaluate the applicability of the HealthOnline framework, including the relevance of emerging interoperability standards to the aged and community care sector.Read moreRead less
Developing an Integrative Active Ageing Model for Policy Makers and Service Providers to Support Older People with Lifelong Intellectual Disability. 'Active ageing' is increasingly gaining international currency and it underpins Australia's national focus on healthy ageing. However, its meaning for older people with intellectual disability, who represent about 0.13% of Australia's older population, is unclear, as little is known about the impact of ageing upon this group. This exciting resear ....Developing an Integrative Active Ageing Model for Policy Makers and Service Providers to Support Older People with Lifelong Intellectual Disability. 'Active ageing' is increasingly gaining international currency and it underpins Australia's national focus on healthy ageing. However, its meaning for older people with intellectual disability, who represent about 0.13% of Australia's older population, is unclear, as little is known about the impact of ageing upon this group. This exciting research project aims to address these knowledge gaps through a series of case studies comprising key stakeholder groups in rural and urban Victoria and Queensland. An Integrative Model of Active Ageing for policy makers and service providers will be developed to facilitate the planning and appropriate distribution of resources for this population. Read moreRead less
Staff communication in aged care facilities: a key factor in delivering resident-focused care. Australia's ageing population makes quality of aged care a national priority. This study examines the proposed crux of quality care: communication structures and processes between staff. In collaboration with our industry partners, Blue Care, TriCare and Aged Care Queensland, the first phase of the study describes the structures and processes for effective communication in Aged Care Facilities (ACF's). ....Staff communication in aged care facilities: a key factor in delivering resident-focused care. Australia's ageing population makes quality of aged care a national priority. This study examines the proposed crux of quality care: communication structures and processes between staff. In collaboration with our industry partners, Blue Care, TriCare and Aged Care Queensland, the first phase of the study describes the structures and processes for effective communication in Aged Care Facilities (ACF's). A process of analysis will synthesize the results of Phase 1 to propose key communication-related indicators of quality care in ACF's. This model is tested in Phase 2 by examining the association between key communication-related indicators and accreditation outcomes. Read moreRead less