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Caring for the older person: the skills for care induction training standards for newly appointed care workers
- Author:
- DAY Malcolm
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 10(1), March 2006, pp.16-19.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The author looks at an induction training programme for newly appointed care workers. The article includes excerpts from the publication 'Caring for the older person', which is based on the original Topps induction standards.
SCIE research briefing 34: communication training for care home workers: outcomes for older people, staff, families and friends
- Authors:
- SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE, et al
- Publisher:
- Social Care Institute for Excellence
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 16p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This briefing draws on a range of UK and internationally published research to look at training to improve nursing and residential care workers' communication skills. This research asks: What sort of topics does ‘training in communication skills’ cover? What teaching and learning methods can be used to deliver training? Does training lead to improvements in knowledge? Does training improve the way that staff in nursing and care homes communicate with older people, their family carers and friends? Do residents and family carers think that training has resulted in improvements to the quality of care that they receive? What incentives and reinforcements can be used to help staff continue to apply what they have learned during training? Implications from the research for organisations, the policy community, practitioners and people who use services and their carers are briefly discussed. More studies looking at the effects of training in the long term and more drawing on the perspectives of older people and carers are needed.
Effectiveness of a training program for carers to recognize depression among older people
- Authors:
- McCABE Marita P., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(12), December 2008, pp.1290-1296.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Depression is a mental disorder that is frequently not detected among older people. The current study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program to assist carers to better recognize depression among older people in both community and residential care settings. In total, 52 professional carers (26 in community care, 26 in residential care) across a range of occupations completed a four session (for personal care attendants) or six session (for registered nurses or managers) training program. The program provided training for staff to identify and respond appropriately to signs of depression. In addition, nurses and managers were trained on the use of screening tools and referral processes. Outcomes were evaluated at post-test, and 6-month follow-up. The results demonstrated that for all groups training was effective in increasing carers' knowledge of depression and self-efficacy in detecting depression, as well as reducing the barriers to care at both post-test and 6-month follow-up. The training program evaluated in the current study was effective in increasing the level of skills necessary for care staff to better detect depression among older people in both community and residential care settings. Further research is needed to determine if these improved skills are sustained over time, and if they actually improve the level of recognition of depression among older people.
User commissioners report
- Author:
- EDWARDS Sarah
- Publisher:
- Lancaster University
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 14
- Place of publication:
- Lancaster
This report highlights the research findings of the Helpcare Project (UK) to date, focusing on the provision of care for older people and the role care workers. The project develops innovative practices for the qualification and professionalisation of health and social care workers that can be adapted and adopted across the EU28 to make better use of the existing workforce through training. The findings outlined in this report emerged from data collected from a variety of sources: interviews with carers, prospective users of services, service providers and a review of relevant and current literature. Issues relating to commissioning, regulation, qualifications, cost and the impact of immigrant workers are also included. The report suggests that qualifications are not standardised throughout services and the experience held by employees varies greatly. In addition to the lack of basic and essential training many carers felt that there were little or no opportunities for professional development and that their role was undervalued. All the service users interviewed by the Helpcare researchers said that they would like to be cared for at home and all but one believed that it would be better if their carers were qualified to do the job. The report also raises concerns about the time allocated for care visits and the issues of costs and pay. (Edited publisher abstract)
Using generational intelligence to examine community care work between younger and older adults
- Authors:
- HAAPALA Irja, TERVO Laura, BIGGS Simon
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work Practice, 29(4), 2015, pp.457-473.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Exploring the factors that contribute to sustainable forms of an intergenerational relationship is becoming an important conceptual and practical challenge, not least because of the growing need for an aged care workforce that is both motivated and suitably trained. Generational intelligence is a means of examining interaction between younger and older people which has been applied to community care settings. Dimensions of generational intelligence include recognising and valuing generational differences, finding common ground, plus negotiating social and practical outcomes from the situation. A case study plus a series of qualitative interviews are used to examine the value of this approach both as a means of exploring the processes involved in generational exchange and in providing recommendations for work preparation and training. It is suggested that intergenerational relations have been a missing factor in the understanding of sustainable care and that in future, service delivery should not simply be analysed as comprising professional and lay perspectives but also as containing generationally distinctive perspectives that require negotiation. (Publisher abstract)
A randomized control trial to evaluate the beyondblue depression training program: does it lead to better recognition of depression?
- Authors:
- McCABE Marita P., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(3), 2013, pp.221-226.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Because of the consequences of depression among older people, in terms of care needs, mortality and quality of life, early recognition and treatment is essential. It has been suggested that care staff could play a key role in this process. This randomised controlled trial was designed to discover if a depression training program could assist aged care staff to in recognising depression among older people in residential care. The use of a “paper trail” for a screening tool and a study champion were evaluated in combination with the training to discover whether this improved the level of detection. A total of 107 professional carers from residential aged care services in Melbourne participated in the study. The 34 carers allocated to the training-only group completed a six-session depression training program, 35 were allocated to the training-plus-screening protocol, and 38 to a wait-list control group. In total, 216 residents were screened. Residents were independently assessed with the SCID-I to determine their depression status. Trained staff were no better in detecting depression than non-trained staff. Staff in the training-plus-screening condition correctly identified more residents as depressed, but also classified more non-depressed residents as depressed. The results confirm the need for protocols to assist carers to detect, refer, and monitor depression in residents.
Support workers' knowledge about dementia: a vignette study
- Authors:
- HERRON Daniel L., PRIEST Helena M.
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 7(1), 2013, pp.27-39.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Because of the relationships they build, support workers can play a vital role in recognising and attending to the mental health needs of service users with intellectual disabilities. However, many lack the knowledge, skills and confidence to identify and respond appropriately. This paper focuses on the mental health of older people with intellectual disabilities. Fourteen support workers, working in one UK county, completed a questionnaire in which three vignettes presented progressively worsening indicators of dementia in an older person with intellectual disabilities. Participants explained what they thought was happening and what action they would take. Few of the participants had any mental health training, and only one in relation to older people. They were generally poor at judging early and intermediate indicators of dementia, sometimes attributing these to changes in routine or difficulty in communicating needs. The support workers were able to identify more overt later signs but believed these advanced indicators to be the onset of dementia. Proposed action was however appropriate, for example observation and referral. Abuse was often considered as a causal factor. The authors believe that their findings demonstrate the need for training in the mental health needs of older people, in particular, the general and specific indicators and expected trajectory of dementia in this population.
Trading places: staff at the receiving end of care
- Author:
- HARRISON Denise
- Journal article citation:
- Nursing and Residential Care, 14(11), November 2012, pp.597-599.
- Publisher:
- MA Healthcare Ltd.
- Place of publication:
- London
Care staff from Dorset visited Belgium in 2012 to discover what it is like to be on the receiving end of care in a unique learning project. The participants wanted to find out how an experience as a care receiver would encourage them to do things differently to provide a better experience of care in their working environments. This article examines the experience of two of the staff and how this has influenced their practice to ensure that residents' dignity is maintained. Overall, the article suggests that staff should be mindful of a resident’s dignity and comfort when performing personal care, and be aware that they care about how they look to others. Staff should also be aware that time goes slowly for residents when they are waiting for a carer to return, and that staff should listen to when a resident says they have had enough to eat rather than pushing them to eat more.
Bowlby and attachment theory: lessons for dementia care
- Authors:
- JACKMAN Louisa J., HAMBLETON Sarah
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Dementia Care, 19(4), July 2011, pp.28-31.
- Publisher:
- Hawker
An introduction to attachment theory and how it can assist understanding of people with dementia who have difficulty relating to others is provided in this article. The article explains what is meant by attachment theory, including work by John Bowlby on behaviours in children which are thought to characterise attachment relationships and how these affect relationships as adults. It discusses situations in which attachment theory may provide a rationale for seemingly inappropriate or challenging behaviour in people with dementia, and presents 2 case examples illustrating how attachment theory can be a helpful model to explain and understand challenging behaviours. It also notes a lack of staff training in issues such as attachment in older people's care settings, and discusses how attachment theory can be used in staff training, supervision and care planning, and in developing interventions.
Using drama to develop person-centred care
- Author:
- WALKER Esther
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Dementia Care, 19(4), July 2011, pp.18-19.
- Publisher:
- Hawker
Forum Interactive is an organisation which delivers learning events using drama and storytelling in different work settings to influence attitudes and behaviour around work practice and relationships. This article, written by its co-founder and Director, explains how it has worked on an NHS Scotland funded project designed to improve the quality and experience of care for older people in Scotland. It discusses how a particular piece of drama, a 15 minute audio play called Night and Day, originally commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, was developed and is used in care homes across the UK. It focuses particularly on the use of Night and Day in developing person-centred care practice in care homes, describing an example of how it was used in 2 care homes as the basis for a two-hour workshop for staff, residents and relatives to enable them to share experiences, discuss issues and improve practice around night time care for people with dementia and older people in general. The author concludes that drama and other storytelling techniques actively engage people in the experience of others and encourage people to consider the viewpoints of others.