Health assessment of the elderly at home: the case for shared learning

Abstract

This paper reports findings from a collaborative research project (Buckley & Runciman 1985) which examined, using video studies and questionnaires, the scope and content of health assessment of old people at home and the views and feelings of different groups of health professionals towards visiting old people at home. The study sample included student and experienced health care workers and a number of elderly people; seven professional groups were represented. A prompt list summarizing key content of health assessment was devised and tested in field studies in two primary health care teams. Views and feelings about visiting old people are presented under four headings: priorities and preferences; skills and training; work organization and the team; and the feelings and rights of the elderly themselves. Educational recommendations from the study are made and the case for shared learning in relation to health care of old people is presented.

Reliability of needs assessments in the community care of older people: impact of the single assessment process in England

“…53 This was not the case for our study, where problems reflecting cognitive difficulties showed similar or higher agreement than those reflecting motor skills, although difficulties before SAP implementation were almost universally poorly detected. It may be, as previous studies have suggested, 3 that different professional groups have a tendency to identify different conditions or problems. One challenge for the SAP will be to enable different professionals to become aware of the existence of a range of conditions and to accept the assessments made by others.…”

Collaboration, facilities and communities in day care services for older people

“…This was most strikingly illustrated by the concerns of day hospital professional groups not represented in the day centres, who felt that patient care might be severely compromised. Runciman (1989) studied the approach of seven different health professional groups to the assessment of older people’s needs. She found that although there was a high degree of overlap in their perceptions, there were also significant differences which strongly reflected particular professional orientations.…”

Single Shared Assessment: The Limits to ‘Quick Fix’ Implementation

“…Staff reported that it gave rise to significant variations in the perceived number of subsequent services or interventions that might be required. Most staff were inclined to the view that service user needs were being identified, but research in this area has indicated the potential for differences among health staff (Runciman, 1989) and, more significantly, between social work and health staff (McKerron, 2001), the latter being more likely to produce assessment outcomes requiring further intervention or services.…”