Review of the Transition Care Program: Models of care. Part 1: Manager surveys and interviews

This report covers the first of a multi-stage project intended to review the Transition Care Program (TCP) in Victoria. In this stage, the Victorian Department of Health (“the Department”) sought to identify the models of care used in different Transition Care Program (TCP) agencies, with a focus on TCP managers.</p

Use of Internet Technology among Older Adults in Residential Aged Care Facilities: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Internet usage may help promote the physical and mental health of older adults living in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF). There is little evidence of how these older citizens use internet services. This systematic review aims to explore the trends and factors contributing to internet use among aged care residents. A systematic search will be conducted on nine online databases—MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo, CINAHL, AgeLine, ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library. Two reviewers will independently conduct title and abstract screening, full-text reading, critical appraisal, and data extraction. Any discrepancies will be resolved by consensus. Methodological risk of bias will be assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project measure and Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. We will report a narrative synthesis of the evidence. Information on factors contributing to internet use and their strength of association will be reported. If feasible, we will undertake a meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. Our review will provide information on the factors predicting internet use among older adults in residential aged care facilities. The evidence from this review will help to formulate further research objectives and, potentially, to design an intervention to trial internet access for these groups. (Protocol Registration: PROSPERO-CRD 42020161227)

‘My pet can't come with me’: Pets as a barrier against moving into supported accommodation

Objective: To determine the impact of pet ownership on older people's decision to move to supported accommodation. Methods: Online survey. Results: Older Australians who were current or past pet owners were invited to complete an online survey, with 193 participants providing valid data. Almost two-thirds of the respondents who said they did not intend to move in the foreseeable future (n = 85) said their pet was an important reason. When asked to rate which factors would be hardest to come to terms with if they had to move because they needed more assistance in future, three groups emerged: the first group (37%) thought the impact on their pet of moving would not be difficult and the pet was not an important reason for staying in their current home. The second group (36%) were the opposite; they believed there would be a negative impact on their pet if they moved and the pet was an important reason for them to stay. The final group (27%) thought their pet was not an important reason to stay in their current location but if they did have to move, the impact on the pet would be quite difficult. No one fell into the category of identifying that their pet was an important reason to stay but having to move would have no impact on the animal. Conclusions: Many older people think about their pets when making a decision to move house, including considering whether a move to supported accommodation will be difficult for their pet. A perceived absence of pet-friendly supported accommodation may be contributing to sub-optimal decision-making by older people.</p

Final Report on Training and Testing Services to Support Residential Aged Care Classification Assessments (AN-ACC)

The purpose of this report is to document activities and outcomes of the project Provision of AN-ACC training, undertaken by La Trobe University for the Commonwealth Department of Health from January 2021 to June 2022. Training was provided to Assessors employed by an assessment management organisation (AMO) in face-to-face workshops led Trainers (employed by La Trobe University) and staff members and Peer educators (employed by the Commonwealth Department of Health). Peer educators were Assessors who had previous experience in using the AN-ACC due to having taken part in the Resource Utilisations and Classifications Studies (RUCS) undertaken by the University of Wollongong (Eagar et al., 2019a) or having participated in the AN-ACC trial in 2019-2020.</p

Virtual nursing in residential aged care: What is known?

This literature review was conducted to inform the evaluation of the Virtual Nursing in Aged Care project, funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care, which will be implemented from 2024 to 2027 to optimise clinical care outcomes for older people living in residential aged care.La Trobe University has been contracted to conduct an evaluation of the project. The evaluation plan comprises four stages. As a deliverable resulting from Stage 1 of the project, a rapid literature review was conducted to scope current evidence for virtual nursing care interventions or programs in long-term residential aged care homes (RACHs).</p