The matter of grief, loss and bereavement in families of those living and dying in residential aged care setting: A systematic review.

The grief, loss and bereavement needs of the families of those living and dying in residential aged care setting is not very well understood. This systematic review examines grief, loss, and bereavement experience of, and interventions relating to, family caregivers of those entering, living and dying in residential aged care. Out of 2023 papers that were identified, 35 met the inclusion criteria which included (n=28) qualitative and (n=7) quantitative intervention studies. The qualitative findings indicated quality of care provided to the resident at the end of their life, and after death care influenced family caregivers' grief reactions. The intervention studies revealed that educational interventions have the potential to lead to some benefits in the context of grief loss and bereavement outcomes. Recognizing the emotional experiences and support needs of families and carers may enhance the understanding of the ageing, caring, dying, grieving pathway for older people and their families.

Steps towards equitable care: creating web pages to highlight diversity for Australia’s aged care and end of life care workforce.

BACKGROUND: The impact of Australia's diverse population on the aged care sector has been acknowledged, with the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safetyfindings providing evidence of the importance of population diversity for consumer-directed and person-centred care. Similarly, the Aged Care Quality Standards and Aged Care Diversity Framework acknowledge the diversity of Australia's ageing population and potential implications for equitable access to care and the ensuing importance of culturally appropriate and culturally safe care. This paper reports on the development of informational web pages and utilisation findings for use by the aged care workforce supporting diverse populations. METHODS: Content was created for the End of Life Directions for Aged Care website, based on rapid review findings relating to barriers and limitations for people accessing equitable care in the aged care and palliative care sectors. RESULTS: Website pages containing embedded links to useful content and resources for health professionals and care workers who work with older diverse adults are shown to be well received among users. CONCLUSIONS: As Australia's future population will age with increasing diversity markers, with implications for aged care and palliative care service provision, workforce access to up-to-date, relevant and evidence-informed information on best practice non-clinical support for individuals from diverse backgrounds towards the end of life promotes a person-centred care approach. Access data shows that the website content is being utilised increasingly over time and suggests that it is filling a gap in comprehensive and accessible end of life resources that have been missing from the Australian aged care and palliative care workforce.

Emollient satisfaction questionnaire: validation study in children with eczema.

BACKGROUND: Emollients are used as maintenance therapy for all severities of eczema but there is a lack of head-to-head comparisons of effectiveness and acceptability. AIM: To determine the validity of a self-report questionnaire designed to assess user satisfaction with a given emollient and to report the findings. METHODS: Data were analysed from the Choice of Moisturiser for Eczema Treatment trial, which compared four emollient types (Aveeno® lotion, Diprobase® cream, Doublebase® gel and Hydromol® ointment) in children aged < 5 years with clinically diagnosed eczema. An emollient satisfaction questionnaire was completed after 12 weeks. Responses for individual items were scored from 0 to 4. Total scores ranged from 0 to 28 (low to high satisfaction). Completion rates and distributions of responses for individual items and total scores, categorized by emollient type, were assessed, and two hypotheses were tested to determine the questionnaire's construct validity. RESULTS: Data from 77.2% (152 of 197) of participants were analysed. One item was rejected because of a high rate (44.7%) of 'don't know' responses, leaving seven items with high completion rates (98.7%) and weak evidence of floor or ceiling effects. A positive association was observed between total score and overall emollient satisfaction (Spearman correlation 0.78; P < 0.001). Total scores were highest (mean ± SD 23.5 ± 3.9) in the lotion group and lowest (18.4 ± 4.6) in the ointment group. CONCLUSION: The emollient satisfaction questionnaire appears to have good validity. Further work is required to validate the questionnaire in other settings and to assess its reliability.

"It is not an acceptable disease": A qualitative study of HIV-related stigma and discrimination and impacts on health and wellbeing for people from ethnically diverse backgrounds in Australia.

BACKGROUND: People from ethnically diverse backgrounds living with HIV are susceptible to adverse health and wellbeing outcomes, particularly as a consequence of HIV-related stigma and discrimination (HSD), though relatively little is known about experiences in Australia. METHODS: This paper reports on HSD in ethnically diverse communities in South Australia and impacts on health and wellbeing. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 10 individuals living with HIV from ethnically diverse backgrounds, 14 ethnically diverse community leaders, and 50 service providers. Data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Findings indicated that HIV is a highly stigmatised condition in ethnically diverse communities due to fear of moral judgment and social isolation, and was experienced at the intersections of gender, sexual orientation, religion, culture, and immigration status. Experiences of HSD were damaging to health and wellbeing through non-disclosure, reduced social support, delayed testing, service access barriers, impacts on treatment adherence, and directly to mental health. CONCLUSIONS: Actions addressing the impacts of HSD on people from ethnically diverse backgrounds are crucial.