Integrating social engagement instruments into Australian community aged care assessments to enhance service provision

Abstract

Rich social relationships contribute to improved well-being and health outcomes, yet aged care client assessments tend to focus almost exclusively on physical issues. We aim to explore the experiences of aged care staff following their use of social engagement and well-being instruments as part of routine assessments for home-care clients. The social engagement (Australian Community Participation Questionnaire, ACPQ) and well-being (ICEpop CAPability Measure for Older Adults, ICECAP-O) instruments were embedded into the centralised information system of an Australian aged care provider. Staff administered these instruments during routine client assessments across a 9-month period involving 289 assessments. Semistructured interviews with 12 staff members were conducted and themes explored using qualitative content analysis. Key factors related to the acceptability of instrument adoption were found. Staff reported the instruments were convenient to use and were valuable in eliciting information for care plan development. Staff found that the instruments complemented their standard assessment procedures and did not disrupt their routine workload. They emphasised that the information gained greatly assisted their discussions with clients, identified social needs, and enhanced client involvement in decisions about desired services. There were also some challenging elements, including staff concerns regarding their ability to deal with emotional responses from clients evoked by the survey questions. ACPQ and ICECAP-O are useful tools for identifying psychosocial client needs, are feasible for use by large-scale aged care organisations and provide valuable information to guide decision-making about services. Future research should identify the long-term effects on improving social participation and client outcomes.

At the grassroots of home and community-based aged care: strategies for successful consumer engagement

“…This included multiple working group meetings, examining deficiencies and aligning with the provider’s aims. Ultimately, by working collaboratively over a long period of time, encompassing multiple research opportunities (psychosocial tool selection and software implementation),19 20 a successful forum was made possible.…”

The co‐design of timely and meaningful information needed to enhance social participation in community aged care services: Think tank proceedings

“…Our earlier work identified that staff reported numerous benefits, as well as barriers, when completing the social participation and QoL tools with their clients . One critical issue commonly identified by staff was the inability to capture relevant information within the electronic assessment forms that could potentially influence service provisions (eg a client's goals and barriers to services).…”

“…Our earlier work identified that staff reported numerous benefits, as well as barriers, when completing the social participation and QoL tools with their clients. 7 One critical issue commonly identified by staff was the inability to capture relevant information within the electronic assessment forms that could potentially influence service provisions (eg a client's goals and barriers to services). This led to the formation of iterative think tank sessions to understand what information was considered important for staff to help improve care planning, and how this information could be captured in the current ICT system without burdening staff.…”

“…Health‐care ICT is an electronic system used to manage client information, identify client needs and deliver services in co‐ordinated and efficient ways to support integrated care . In prior research, we identified difficulties in capturing the rich data from the tools within the ICT system and its utilisation in a meaningful way . Therefore, we adopted an action research approach in the Ageing Well project to enhance the usefulness of the electronic ACPQ and ICECAP‐O assessment forms.…”

“…6 In prior research, we identified difficulties in capturing the rich data from the tools within the ICT system and its utilisation in a meaningful way. 7 Therefore, we adopted an action research approach in the Ageing Well project to enhance the usefulness of the electronic ACPQ and ICECAP-O assessment forms. Action research is an approach that when used in aged care that involves collaboration between stakeholders (professional staff and clients) and researchers to develop, implement and evaluate research that is specific to the needs of health-care consumers.…”