Katrina Radford

The association between cognitive impairment and community service use patterns in older people living in Australia

Family plays a vital role in supporting individuals with dementia to reside in the community, thus delaying institutionalisation. Existing research indicates that the burden of care-giving is particularly high for those caring for a person with dementia. Yet, little is known about the uptake of community services by people with a diagnosis of dementia. Therefore, this study aims to better understand the relationship between cognitive impairment and the receipt of community care services. In order to examine the relationship, secondary data collected across Queensland, Australia, from 59,352 home-care clients aged 65 and over during 2007-2008 are analysed. This cross-sectional study uses regression analyses to estimate the relationship between cognitive impairment and service mix, while controlling for socio-demographic characteristics. The dependent variables include formal services, informal care and total home-care service hours during a 12-month period. The findings of this study demonstrate that cognitive impairment is associated with accessing more hours of respite and day centre care but fewer hours of other formal care services. Additionally, the likelihood of support from an informal caregiver increases when a client becomes cognitively impaired. Therefore, this study demonstrates that there is an increased need for respite programmes to support informal caregivers in the future, as the population of people living with dementia increases. These findings support the need for investigations of new and innovative respite models in the future.

Addressing loneliness in a retirement village community: A pilot test of a print-delivered intervention

Aim:  To explore perceptions of a self‐help print‐delivered intervention aimed at encouraging social well‐being and addressing loneliness in a retirement village community.

Making Intergenerational Care a Possibility in Australia: A Review of the Australian Legislation

ABSTRACT In the Australian context, the out-of-home care of children and respite service for older adults are segregated. Yet internationally there has been a shift toward intergenerational programs that purposefully bring together younger and older people for mutual benefits. This paper examines the enablers of, supports for, and constraints of introducing intergenerational care programs (IGC) within the Australian legislation and regulations of child-care and aged-care programs. In doing so, program design features, workforce strategies, and built environment are considered. The literature indicates that the meshing of standards into IGC programs provides an opportunity to make intergenerational care an attractive model for respite to caregivers and recipients of care, while providing intergenerational contact for younger families. Such a program is likely to be cost effective with economies-of-scale workforce efficiencies. Future research will involve a needs assessment of potential consumers to explore the possible demand for intergenerational care programs within Australia before conducting a trial of different intergenerational care programs.

What makes me stay? An investigation into factors influencing older workers’ intentions to stay

This article examines the factors that influence older personal care workers’ (PCWs’) (aged 50+) intentions to stay. This article reports on the quantitative and qualitative findings from a cross-sectional survey from four aged care organisations in Australia. The results found that both personal (age, location of the job, health and family commitments) and organisational (job satisfaction, perceived supervisor support (PSS), job embeddedness, working environment, pay, career opportunities and job stability) factors influenced intentions. However, organisational factors outweighed personal factors, irrespective of time. Combined, these findings suggest that organisations can influence employee retention significantly by promoting a supportive working environment and by providing clear career progression, appropriate pay and job security to their employees.

Respite service use among caregivers of older people: comparative analysis of family dementia caregivers with musculoskeletal and circulatory system disorder caregivers

ABSTRACT Objectives: To identify the main drivers of the use of respite services and the need for respite services among caregivers of people experiencing dementia relative to family caregivers of people with other health conditions. Method: Based on nationally representative secondary data regression analysis was used to test the association between selected health conditions and the utilisation of and need for respite services. Results: For a person living with dementia the odds of using respite care are higher than for a person with either a musculoskeletal or circulatory condition. Family caregivers of people living with dementia report the odds of the need for more respite as 5.3 times higher than for family caregivers of people with musculoskeletal conditions and 7.7 times higher than for family caregivers of people with circulatory conditions. The main reason for never using respite services is largely driven by the type of health condition, age of care recipient, existence of a spouse, and level of disability. Conclusions: Respite services that cater to the specific needs of families experiencing dementia at home should become a higher priority within the aged care sector. Alternative models of respite care that focus on prevention and early intervention would be cost effective.

Job satisfaction and intention to stay within community and residential aged care employees

This study investigated the different facets of job satisfaction that influence community care and residential care employees’ intention to stay in the aged care workforce.

The Ageing Population in Australia: Implications for the Workforce

The ageing population creates ongoing opportunities and challenges to engage an older workforce in Australia. This chapter discusses some of these opportunities and challenges by providing a demographic overview of the ageing population and ageing workforce before discussing generational differences, and age diversity practices that may be implemented to respond to this social challenge. Following this, the chapter then discusses strategies that could be used to attract and retain an age-diverse workforce before concluding that a multitude of approaches is needed to respond more effectively to population ageing and to capture the full benefits of a diverse workforce.

Developing an Evidenced Based Intergenerational Pedagogy in Australia

ABSTRACT This paper presents a systematic literature review of the qualitative evidence in relation to intergenerational learning programs, principles, and practices. The aim of the review is to develop the evidence base to form an Intergenerational Model of Practice Framework based on the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). The EYLF comprises three inter-related elements: principles, practice, and outcomes. The results of this systematic literature review revealed commonalities across these elements and therefore what is needed to underpin the development of an evidence-based Intergenerational Model of Practice Framework.

Unpacking intergenerational (IG) programs for policy implications: A systematic review of the literature

ABSTRACT Intergenerational care is a program where both the younger and older generations are receiving programmed care in an environment where activities and resources are shared between them. Anecdotally, an intergenerational care program takes on many forms. This paper presents a systematic literature review of intergenerational care models. Our findings are relevant to policy makers as the paper highlights the opportunities to create an age-friendly environment by introducing intergenerational models in Australia, where intergenerational care development is in its infancy. Future research will help articulate the personal, social, and economic value of intergenerational care.

Intergenerational care: an exploration of consumer preferences and willingness to pay for care

ABSTRACT Objectives: To identify feasible models of intergenerational care programmes, that is, care of children and older people in a shared setting, to determine consumer preferences and willingness to pay. Method: Feasible models were constructed in extensive consultations with a panel of experts using a Delphi technique (n = 23) and were considered based on their practical implementation within an Australian setting. This informed a survey tool that captured the preferences and willingness to pay for these models by potential consumers, when compared to the status quo. Information collected from the surveys (n = 816) was analysed using regression analysis to identify fundamental drivers of preferences and the prices consumers were willing to pay for intergenerational care programmes. Results: The shared campus and visiting models were identified as feasible intergenerational care models. Key attributes of these models included respite day care; a common educational pedagogy across generations; screening; monitoring; and evaluation of participant outcomes. Although parents were more likely to take up intergenerational care compared to the status quo, adult carers reported a higher willingness to pay for these services. Educational attainment also influenced the likely uptake of intergenerational care. Conclusions: The results of this study show that there is demand for the shared campus and the visiting campus models among the Australian community. The findings support moves towards consumer-centric models of care, in line with national and international best practice. This consumer-centric approach is encapsulated in the intergenerational care model and enables greater choice of care to match different consumer demands.