Innovative Programs Serving Diverse Populations: The Community College Caregiver Training Initiative

Turnover among homecare workers is alarmingly high, due to difficult working conditions, low pay, few benefits and little opportunity for career advancement. The significance of our Community College Caregiver Training Initiative is reinforced by the recommendation by the Institute of Medicine in its 2008 report, Retooling for an Aging America, for improved education and training and support for professional caregivers

Family at the Center

To better understand how family engagement supports school readiness in Los Angeles County, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment convened an advisory group of early childhood leaders and stakeholders to provide advice and explore opportunities to strengthen parent engagement. This report summarizes key insights and recommendations that emerged through these discussions and additional research about parent engagement programs and practices

Developing National In-Home Caregiver Training Standards

This report incorporates discussion by experts on topics of paid in-home caregiver training standards, including curricula, accreditation, certification, career ladder, and caregiver support

Design and introduction of a quality of life assessment and practice support system: perspectives from palliative care settings

Background: Quality of life (QOL) assessment instruments, including patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs), are increasingly promoted as a means of enabling clinicians to enhance person-centered care. However, integration of these instruments into palliative care clinical practice has been inconsistent. This study focused on the design of an electronic Quality of Life and Practice Support System (QPSS) prototype and its initial use in palliative inpatient and home care settings. Our objectives were to ascertain desired features of a QPSS prototype and the experiences of clinicians, patients, and family caregivers in regard to the initial introduction of a QPSS in palliative care, interpreting them in context. Methods: We applied an integrated knowledge translation approach in two stages by engaging a total of 71 clinicians, 18 patients, and 17 family caregivers in palliative inpatient and home care settings. Data for Stage I were collected via 12 focus groups with clinicians to ascertain desirable features of a QPSS. Stage II involved 5 focus groups and 24 interviews with clinicians and 35 interviews with patients or family caregivers during initial implementation of a QPSS. The focus groups and interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the qualitative methodology of interpretive description. Results: Desirable features focused on hardware (lightweight, durable, and easy to disinfect), software (simple, user-friendly interface, multi-linguistic, integration with e-health systems), and choice of assessment instruments that would facilitate a holistic assessment. Although patient and family caregiver participants were predominantly enthusiastic, clinicians expressed a mixture of enthusiasm, receptivity, and concern regarding the use of a QPSS. The analyses revealed important contextual considerations, including: (a) logistical, technical, and aesthetic considerations regarding the QPSS as a technology, (b) diversity in knowledge, skills, and attitudes of clinicians, patients, and family caregivers regarding the integration of electronic QOL assessments in care, and (c) the need to understand organizational context and priorities in using QOL assessment data. Conclusion: The process of designing and integrating a QPSS in palliative care for patients with life-limiting conditions and their family caregivers is complex and requires extensive consultation with clinicians, administrators, patients, and family caregivers to inform successful implementation

Assuring Access to Care Under Health Reform: The Key Role of Workforce Policy

Examines policy and practical options for addressing the projected shortage of primary care physicians to ensure access to health care under expanded insurance coverage, including reorganizing practices to make productive use of nurses and other staff

Comprehensive Services: Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care Research-Based Rationale

This rationale presents research on factors that put babies and toddlers at risk for unhealthy development and the benefits of comprehensive health, mental health, and family support services. It also examines how state policies can improve care for babies. As part of the Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care project, this rationale supports the Policy Framework's recommendation to: Link necessary services for vulnerable babies and toddlers to child care settings

Optimising support for informal carers of the long-term disabled to enhance resilience and sustainability

Optimising carer resilience has direct benefits to carers, and additional benefits to the overall care support system by reducing dependence on paid care. Executive summary People with severe and chronic disabilities represent a significant proportion of the population who require assistance to live in their own home and be a part of the community. In addition to assistance from the paid carer workforce, this assistance is provided by family, relatives or friends who are not paid or formally trained in the provision of care and support. These informal carers assist with a variety of tasks including activities of daily living, emotional care and support and accessing medical care and ongoing therapy to optimise independence. There are 2.7 million people in Australia who provide informal (unpaid) care to a person with a disability or long-term health condition, of which 770,000 provide the majority of care and support to people with a severe disability. Given their substantial contribution to care provision and the physical, emotional and other impacts of providing care, it is important to understand the experience of informal carers and address their support needs. In recent years, studies have elucidated the substantial effects of providing care on the psychological, physical, social and other impacts of providing care to a person with a long-term disability. There are a range of interventions to mitigate these impacts, which are provided in Australia through a variety of national and local government and nongovernment entities with varying efficacy. Optimising carer resilience has direct benefits to carers, and additional benefits to the overall care support system by reducing dependence on paid care. This NTRI Forum aims to investigate effective strategies for providing support (excluding skills-related education and training, i.e. manual handling and transfers) to informal carers that can help to optimise their resilience, and the sustainability of the long-term disabled. An evidence review of literature identified 25 relevant reviews and primary studies and a further 16 ongoing primary studies. The overall results of reviews of carer support interventions were inconclusive, therefore firm conclusions regarding what works and doesn’t work cannot be made. However, evidence was reported as ‘good’ for educational and psycho-educational interventions, counselling and psychosocial interventions and multicomponent interventions; Evidence for care co-ordination and family support interventions was described as ‘promising’; Evidence for technology-based interventions was conflicting in the setting of Dementia, but more positive in the area of catastrophic injury; Evidence for respite care was described as ‘not strong’, and although benefits were reported, the importance of additional support strategies in conjunction with respite care was emphasised. Similarly, emerging positive evidence in favour of support groups was reported, however additional concurrent support strategies were recommended. Passive information dissemination alone was found to be ineffective. The review also outlined a range of factors to consider in interpreting this evidence and identified implications for practice and research

Evaluation of the whanau carers training programme delivered by LIFE Unlimited

In response to the needs of Maori informal carers, a training programme was developed for whanau carers in the Waikato region. It was delivered by LIFE Unlimited. It is a unique training programme in that it is community driven and focuses on informal caregivers who are Maori. The overarching aim of the whanau carers training programme is to provide increased training and support of informal carers. This report aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the whanau carers training programme, including: the unique nature of the programme, the critical success factors, the barriers to success if any, and suggested improvements. The report concludes the programme has had a positive and definite impact upon the whanau carers. The evaluation team observed that the overall programme works very well and fulfils its stated obligations to the Ministry of Health. The programmes are delivered well, and are well received by the client group

What Works? A Study of Effective Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Programs

Examines factors that lead to desirable outcomes in mental health consultation programs: solid program infrastructure, highly qualified consultants, and quality support services. Analyzes targeted outcomes, measurements, and intensity of interventions

Iowa Department on Aging Performance Plan, FY2013

Agency Performance Plan, Iowa Department of Elder Affair