Understanding and responding to racism and the provision of culturally safe care by interdisciplinary health professionals in the aged care sector in regional, rural and remote areas: a scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: This scoping review was undertaken to obtain conceptual clarification about how racism and cultural safety are understood by interdisciplinary health professionals globally in the aged care sector in regional, rural and remote areas. There is evidence in Australia and internationally that racism is a factor impacting significantly on the health of First Peoples and other racialised minorities. Recent policy changes in Australia have required health professionals to integrate cultural safety into their practice to mitigate racism and improve the health of older First Nations Australians and older people from diverse ethnic and cultural groups. METHODS: This review consisted of literature published in English from 1990, including published primary studies; systematic, integrative and narrative reviews; meta-analyses; theses; policy documents; guidelines; position statements; and government literature. Ovid (MEDLINE), CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Scopus, Proquest Nursing and Allied Health Database, and Informit were used in the full search. The most recent search of all databases was undertaken on 9 May 2022. Ten papers were included in the review, following the exclusion of 376 papers. A title and abstract search of the reference lists of papers included in the review identified no additional papers. RESULTS: Ten papers were included in the review from Australia, Canada, the US, Norway and England. The literature reviewed suggests that health professionals in the aged care sector in regional, rural and remote areas in Australia, Canada, the US, Norway and England use alternative terms to 'racism' and 'racist', such as 'institutional marginalisation'. DISCUSSION: The absence of explicit reference to racism aligns with critical race research that argues implicit bias and institutional racism are often separated from an individualised understanding of racism. That is, practitioners may understand racism as something that is perpetrated by individuals in an otherwise 'neutral' health setting. There is also a lack of clarity on how culturally safe care is understood, even though individual care plans are viewed as instrumental in establishing the needs and preferences of the consumers. Within the literature surveyed, barriers to providing quality and culturally inclusive care include disengaged management, insufficient human and material resources, language barriers and a lack of education focused on the needs of older individuals and groups with various cultural and spiritual needs. Additionally, the review does not clearly illuminate what health professionals understand to be racist thinking or behaviour and how it is responded to in practice. Likewise, there is limited information about health professionals' understanding of cultural safety and how to provide culturally inclusive care. CONCLUSION: While work is beginning on developing standards for cultural safety training in an Australian context, there are also opportunities to consider how these should be applied or adapted to residential and community aged care to best meet the needs of a diverse consumer base and workforce.

A scoping review exploring reablement models of training and client assessment for older people in primary health care.

AIM: The aim of this scoping review is to explore the evidence by which community service providers have integrated reablement models of staff training and client assessment into practice. BACKGROUND: The concept of reablement, which has emerged during the last two decades globally, has recently been defined by health experts from 11 countries through a Delphi study. Reablement is seen as a way to support integrated frameworks that achieve person-centred, long-term care and assistance across community settings. International research indicates there is some evidence of developing models of reablement that include staff training and individual components of client assessment. However, evidence of integrating reablement into interdisciplinary practice continues to be sparse. METHODS: The review adopted the preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) approach. Inclusion criteria for the review related to community care, primary care, long-term care, and residential care. Populations of interest included service providers, interdisciplinary staff, trainers, and assessors. RESULTS: A total of 11 papers were reviewed. The studies varied in their approach to reablement training and client assessment frameworks. Three studies included assessment of staff well-being. All included evidence-based, person-centred components that can be integrated across health care settings. Single disciplinary approaches were used in all studies and some included training evaluation. CONCLUSION: This review has identified that currently reablement models are not yet embedded as frameworks for practice by community service providers in primary health care settings. Different programmes of training and assessment are being designed based on single disciplinary approaches and the context in which they are delivered. Further developmental work is required to integrate the components of discipline-specific training programmes within interdisciplinary frameworks. This will achieve not only an integrated framework for delivery across settings but also further the success of 'ageing in place' policy.

Using an economic evaluation approach to support specialist nursing services for people with Parkinson's in a regional community.

AIM: This study aims to provide economic evidence of the cost-effectiveness of employing specialist Parkinson's nurses in a regional community in Australia. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective study utilized hospital service usage data to compare outcomes for people with Parkinson's disease before and after the employment of a specialist Parkinson's nurse in a regional community. METHODS: A representative sample was drawn from the target population of people with a diagnosis of Parkinson's admitted to a regional hospital over a 4-year period (2013-2014 and 2016-2017). A multiple regression approach and cost-benefit analysis were used to examine hospital costs related to length of stay based on hospital records. All costs were attributed to resource allocation according to service category and the national funding system. Quantitative data were analysed using Strata Analytics. RESULTS: Statistical findings demonstrated a reduction in hospital length of stay ranging from 0.37 (AUD$1924) to 0.755 day (AUD$3926) after the establishment of the specialist Parkinson's nurse. The cost-benefit analysis showed a net dollar benefit, or savings in hospital costs, of up to $8600.00 per person over a 3-year period, as a result of the specialist Parkinson's nurse intervention. CONCLUSION: The statistical results show significant cost benefits associated with reduced length of hospital stay following introduction of the specialist Parkinson's nurse. These findings support advocacy for sustainable specialist Parkinson's nurse positions and have the potential to inform and influence policy and systemic changes within the health care system. IMPACT: The benefits of embedding specialist nursing services for people with Parkinson's disease in primary health settings include the direct impact on the potential to avoid hospital admissions due to worsening symptoms, improving quality of life for the person with Parkinson's and slowing the trajectory of the disease. Additional benefits are increased access to specialist services and reduced family caregiver burden.

'They rush you and push you too much and you can't really get any good response off them': A qualitative examination of family involvement in care of people with dementia in acute care.

AIM: To explore the role and needs of the family carer across different acute care contexts and their level of involvement in the care of their relative with dementia in this setting. METHODS: A pragmatic, exploratory-descriptive qualitative approach. A convenience sample of 30 family carers across three sites completed semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Family carers wanted to be involved in the acute care of their family member with dementia. They acknowledged the importance of a central source of information, educated staff, guidelines on roles and processes, and positive communication, as well as respect from staff for the carer's knowledge of the older person and their needs. They also highlighted the need for medical staff to discuss with them the family member's treatment and care. CONCLUSION: There is a need for family-focused interventions to improve communication and involvement of family in the care of family members with dementia in the acute setting.