Multi-faceted palliative care intervention: aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions and experiences

AIM: This paper is a report of a study to describe residential aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions of a multi-faceted palliative care intervention to identify potential areas to be addressed during subsequent action research phases. BACKGROUND: Action research was used to en...

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Main Authors: Phillips, J. L., Davidson, Patricia, Jackson, D., Kristjanson, Linda
Format: Journal Article
Published: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2008
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5611
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author Phillips, J. L.
Davidson, Patricia
Jackson, D.
Kristjanson, Linda
author_facet Phillips, J. L.
Davidson, Patricia
Jackson, D.
Kristjanson, Linda
author_sort Phillips, J. L.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description AIM: This paper is a report of a study to describe residential aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions of a multi-faceted palliative care intervention to identify potential areas to be addressed during subsequent action research phases. BACKGROUND: Action research was used to enhance the delivery of a palliative approach in residential aged care. The chronic care model guided the development of a multi-faceted intervention. This involved the: (1) establishment of a 'link nurse' role; (2) learning and development strategies for nurses, care assistants and general practitioners; (3) use of multi-disciplinary team meetings; and (4) access to specialist consultation. METHOD: A purposive sample (n = 28) of aged care nurses and care assistants participated in a series of four focus groups conducted in July 2005. Thematic content analysis of the transcripts was performed. FINDINGS: Four themes emerged: (1) targeted education can make a difference; (2) a team approach is valued; (3) clinical assessment tools are helpful; and (4) using the right language is essential. Participants described increased understanding of palliative care concepts, enhanced competencies, greater confidence to deliver palliative care and a desire to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to care planning. CONCLUSION: Sustaining a culture that is committed to ongoing learning and development interventions and creating multi-disciplinary teams in the aged care setting is critical to embedding a palliative approach. The chronic care model is a useful framework to guide the development of interventions leading to better palliative care outcomes for residents and their families.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-56112017-09-13T16:06:25Z Multi-faceted palliative care intervention: aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions and experiences Phillips, J. L. Davidson, Patricia Jackson, D. Kristjanson, Linda AIM: This paper is a report of a study to describe residential aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions of a multi-faceted palliative care intervention to identify potential areas to be addressed during subsequent action research phases. BACKGROUND: Action research was used to enhance the delivery of a palliative approach in residential aged care. The chronic care model guided the development of a multi-faceted intervention. This involved the: (1) establishment of a 'link nurse' role; (2) learning and development strategies for nurses, care assistants and general practitioners; (3) use of multi-disciplinary team meetings; and (4) access to specialist consultation. METHOD: A purposive sample (n = 28) of aged care nurses and care assistants participated in a series of four focus groups conducted in July 2005. Thematic content analysis of the transcripts was performed. FINDINGS: Four themes emerged: (1) targeted education can make a difference; (2) a team approach is valued; (3) clinical assessment tools are helpful; and (4) using the right language is essential. Participants described increased understanding of palliative care concepts, enhanced competencies, greater confidence to deliver palliative care and a desire to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to care planning. CONCLUSION: Sustaining a culture that is committed to ongoing learning and development interventions and creating multi-disciplinary teams in the aged care setting is critical to embedding a palliative approach. The chronic care model is a useful framework to guide the development of interventions leading to better palliative care outcomes for residents and their families. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5611 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04600.x Blackwell Publishing Ltd restricted
spellingShingle Phillips, J. L.
Davidson, Patricia
Jackson, D.
Kristjanson, Linda
Multi-faceted palliative care intervention: aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions and experiences
title Multi-faceted palliative care intervention: aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions and experiences
title_full Multi-faceted palliative care intervention: aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions and experiences
title_fullStr Multi-faceted palliative care intervention: aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions and experiences
title_full_unstemmed Multi-faceted palliative care intervention: aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions and experiences
title_short Multi-faceted palliative care intervention: aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions and experiences
title_sort multi-faceted palliative care intervention: aged care nurses' and care assistants' perceptions and experiences
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5611