Search

Social participation is critical to the health and well‐being of older adults, however, participation often declines with age. Research has identified that personal and environmental factors such as high socioeconomic status and accessible transportation are associated with higher levels of social participation. However, the barriers and facilitators to social participation experienced by older adults receiving community aged care services remains largely unexplored. This qualitative study aimed to generate context‐rich data and identify the barriers and facilitators to effective community care services that can support older adults' participation in the community and contribute to individual well‐being. Semi‐structured focus groups were conducted with 40 community aged care clients and 21 staff members between January to July 2018 and thematic analysis was undertaken. Environmental factors, such as availability and accessibility of transportation services emerged as the most important factors influencing participation. Older age, self‐attitude towards one's own functional ability and limited social networks were important personal factors affecting participation. Proactive aged care services (e.g., engaged staff, tailored activities) were reported to assist with continual engagement in aged care services. In contrast, the type, location and accessibility of the activity, associated costs and limited options for accessible transportation were key barriers to older adults' social participation. Pathways contributing to positive engagement were complex and variable, but personal well‐being and local community resources emerged as important factors encouraging higher social participation. These findings are discussed in the context of the ongoing pandemic and implications for future aged care services are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Rich social relationships contribute to improved well‐being and health outcomes, yet aged care client assessments tend to focus almost exclusively on physical issues. We aim to explore the experiences of aged care staff following their use of social engagement and well‐being instruments as part of routine assessments for home‐care clients. The social engagement (Australian Community Participation Questionnaire, ACPQ) and well‐being (ICEpop CAPability Measure for Older Adults, ICECAP‐O) instruments were embedded into the centralised information system of an Australian aged care provider. Staff administered these instruments during routine client assessments across a 9‐month period involving 289 assessments. Semistructured interviews with 12 staff members were conducted and themes explored using qualitative content analysis. Key factors related to the acceptability of instrument adoption were found. Staff reported the instruments were convenient to use and were valuable in eliciting information for care plan development. Staff found that the instruments complemented their standard assessment procedures and did not disrupt their routine workload. They emphasised that the information gained greatly assisted their discussions with clients, identified social needs, and enhanced client involvement in decisions about desired services. There were also some challenging elements, including staff concerns regarding their ability to deal with emotional responses from clients evoked by the survey questions. ACPQ and ICECAP‐O are useful tools for identifying psychosocial client needs, are feasible for use by large‐scale aged care organisations and provide valuable information to guide decision‐making about services. Future research should identify the long‐term effects on improving social participation and client outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]