To canvas the contemporary contextual forces within the Australian residential aged care sector and argue for new research and innovation. There is a pressing need to provide systematised, high-quality and person-centred care to our ageing populations, especially for those who rely on residential care. This paper advances a warrant for establishing a new systematic framework for assessment and management that serves as a foundation for effective person-centred care delivery.
Position paper.
This paper promulgates the current dialogue among key stakeholders of quality residential aged care in Australia, including clinicians, regulatory agencies, researchers and consumers. A desktop review gathered relevant literature spanning research, standards and guidelines regarding current and future challenges in aged care in Australia.
This position paper explores the issues of improving the quality and safety of residential aged care in Australia, including the lingering impact of COVID-19 and incoming reforms. It calls for nurse-led research and innovation to deliver tools to address these challenges.
The paper proposes an appropriate holistic, evidence-based nursing framework to optimise the quality and safety of residential aged care in Australia.
This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct, or reporting.
To explore patient and family narratives about their recognition and response to clinical deterioration and their interactions with clinicians prior to and during Medical Emergency Team (MET) activations in hospital.
Research on clinical deterioration has mostly focused on clinicians' roles. Although patients and families can identify subtle cues of early deterioration, little research has focused on their experience of recognising, speaking up and communicating with clinicians during this period of instability.
A narrative inquiry.
Using narrative interviewing techniques, 33 adult patients and 14 family members of patients, who had received a MET call, in one private and one public academic teaching hospital in Melbourne, Australia were interviewed. Narrative analysis was conducted on the data.
The core story of help seeking for recognition and response by clinicians to patient deterioration yielded four subplots: (1) identifying deterioration, recognition that something was not right and different from earlier; (2) voicing concerns to their nurse or by family members on their behalf; (3) being heard, desiring a response acknowledging the legitimacy of their concerns; and (4) once concerns were expressed, there was an expectation of and trust in clinicians to act on the concerns and manage the situation.
Clinical deterioration results in an additional burden for hospitalised patients and families to speak up, seek help and resolve their concerns. Educating patients and families on what to be concerned about and when to notify staff requires a close partnership with clinicians.
Clinicians must create an environment that enables patients and families to speak up. They must be alert to both subjective and objective information, to acknowledge and to act on the information accordingly.
The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines were used for reporting.
The consumer researcher was involved in design, data analysis and publication preparation.
To generate, test and refine programme theories that emerged from a rapid realist review investigating practising UK Nurses' and Midwives' experiences of effective leadership strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The realist review of literature generated six tentative theories of healthful leadership practices reflecting, working with people's beliefs and values; being facilitative; multiple means of communication and; practical support. The review yielded little insight into the actual impact of the leadership approaches advocated.
A realist study, informed by person-centredness using mixed-methods. Online survey (n = 328) and semi-structured interviews (n = 14) of nurses and midwives across the UK in different career positions/specialities. Quantitative data analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. Framework analysis for qualitative data using context (C), mechanism (M), outcome (O) configurations of the tentative theories.
Three refined theories were identified concerning: Visibility and availability; embodying values and; knowing self. Healthful leadership practices are only achievable within organisational cultures that privilege well-being.
Leaders should intentionally adopt practices that promote well-being. ‘Knowing self’ as a leader, coaching and mentoring practice development is important for leadership development.
Nurses who feel valued, heard, cared for and safe are more likely to remain in clinical practice. Job satisfaction and being motivated to practice with confidence and competence will impact positively on patient outcomes.
The study addresses the role of leadership in developing healthful workplace cultures. The main findings were six leadership practices that promote healthful cultures. The research will have an impact on strategic and clinical leaders, nurses and midwives.
This study used EQUATOR checklist, RAMASES II as reporting standards for realist evaluations.
No patient or public contribution.