The Lived Experience of Providing Care and Support Services for Holocaust Survivors in Australia.

Lack of awareness among paid carers of the possible late-life consequences of early-life periods of extreme and prolonged traumatization may have negative impacts on the experiences of trauma survivors in receiving care. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to investigate the lived experience of paid carers in providing care for Jewish Holocaust survivors. In total, 70 carers participated in 10 focus group discussions. Credibility of the findings was ensured by methodological triangulation and peer debriefing. Three major themes emerged: (a) knowing about survivors' past helps me make sense of who they are, (b) the trauma adds an extra dimension to caregiving, and (c) caring for survivors has an emotional impact. Specific knowledge, attitudes, and skills for building positive care relationships with Holocaust survivors were identified. The findings offer a starting point for advancing knowledge about the care of older survivors from other refugee backgrounds.

Stabilising the aged care workforce: an analysis of worker retention and intention.

Concerns about the capacity of the aged care industry to attract and retain a workforce with the skills required to deliver high quality care are widespread, but poor conceptualisation of the problem can result in strategies to address turnover being poorly targeted. A census of residential and community aged care services conducted by the National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) in 2007 provided a comprehensive empirical account of the workforce, and estimated turnover on the basis of retention: that is, the proportion of the workforce who had been in their job for 1 year or less. This paper adds the dimension of intention: that is, workers' expectations as to whether in 1 year's time, they would still be working in the same aged care service. The dual driver model that takes both retention and intention into account was applied in further analysis of the 2007 NILS data. Investigation of relationships between workforce instability and 13 variables covering worker attributes, organisational attributes and structural attributes of the industry demonstrated the usefulness of the dual driver model for reconceptualising and analysing stability and, in turn, refining strategies to address turnover.

Predictors of physical activity behavior in older community-dwelling adults.

OBJECTIVES: Physical activity is important health behavior for functional independence and quality of life in older people. This study examined factors that influence older people's engagement in physical activity. METHODS: Data were analyzed from the first wave of the Melbourne Longitudinal Studies on Health Ageing program survey of 1000 persons aged 65 yrs and older living in noninstitutional settings in Melbourne, Australia. RESULTS: Most people reported doing some physical activity in the previous 2 wks. Agreement that there was much older people can do to keep healthy influenced reported physical activity behaviour. Most respondents believed they did enough activity. Age, educational status, and income were also correlates of physical activity behavior. The predictors of energetic physical activity behavior (defined as engaging in both energetic and light activities in the past fortnight) were age, education, personal security score, and positive health beliefs, independent of health status. DISCUSSION: These predictors have implications for planning and tailoring delivery of health promotion interventions.

Aged care managers' perceptions of staff preparedness for caring for older survivors of genocide and mass trauma in Australia: How prepared are aged care workers?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate aged care managers' perceptions of staff preparedness for working with older people who experienced genocide or mass trauma earlier in their lives (referred to in this paper as 'older survivors'). METHODS: A survey of 60 aged care service managers was conducted (50% response rate). Trauma knowledge and skills scales with Cronbach's alpha scores of 0.74 and 0.90 respectively, were used. Scores across groups were compared using Student's t-tests. RESULTS: Three-quarters of the respondents reported that their agency had provided aged care services for older survivors. The majority of these managers perceived their staff to be moderately informed about trauma-related issues and half rated staff trauma-related skills positively. These ratings were positively associated with trauma-related staff training, service type and service location. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that, overall, managers perceive a need to improve aged care staff's preparedness for providing care for older survivors.

Laughter yoga activities for older people living in residential aged care homes: A feasibility study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a laughter yoga activities (LY) program for older people living in residential aged care homes (RACHs). METHODS: A 6-week LY program was implemented at three RACHs with twenty-eight residents. A pre-post design was used to measure positive and negative affect, happiness, blood pressure and pulse. RESULTS: Post-session mean scores for positive mood, and happiness were significantly higher than pre-session scores in weeks 1, 3 and 6, and the post-session mean negative mood scores were significantly lower than pre-session scores in weeks 3 and 6. Post-session readings for mean systolic blood pressure were significantly lower than pre-session readings in weeks 1 and 6. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the potential for using LY to improve mood and lower blood pressure of older people living in RACHs.