Quality and Safety in Aged Care Virtual Issue: What Australian research published in the Australasian Journal on Ageing tells us

• Published in: Australasian journal on ageing 2019-03, Vol.38 (1), p.E1-E6
• Main Authors: Wells, Yvonne, Brooke, Elizabeth, Solly, Kane N
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitude of Health Personnel; Australia; Biomedical Research; Community Health Services - organization & administration; Community Health Services - standards; Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; Geriatrics - organization & administration; Geriatrics - standards; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Personnel - education; Health Personnel - organization & administration; Health Personnel - psychology; Health Personnel - standards; health services for the aged; Health Services for the Aged - organization & administration; Health Services for the Aged - standards; home care services; homes for the aged; Homes for the Aged - organization & administration; Homes for the Aged - standards; Humans; Inservice Training; nursing care; Nursing Homes - organization & administration; Nursing Homes - standards; Organizational Culture; patient safety; Patient-Centered Care; patient‐centred care; Periodicals as Topic; Professional-Patient Relations; Quality Improvement - organization & administration; Quality Improvement - standards; Quality Indicators, Health Care - organization & administration; Quality Indicators, Health Care - standards; quality of health care; Workplace
• ISSN: 1440-6381; 1741-6612
• DOI: 10.1111/ajag.12638

Objective To review studies published in the Australasian Journal on Ageing (AJA) about the aged care workforce, and to identify influences on quality of care and potential policy directions. Methods Articles in the AJA on the aged care workforce published from 2009 to 2018 were identified, grouped into themes and rated for quality. Results Twenty‐eight articles were identified. Articles fell into four themes: (i) staff knowledge, skills and attitudes; (ii) staff well‐being and workforce stability; (iii) environmental factors that influence staff capacity; and (iv) interventions to improve staff capacity. Studies reinforced the importance of staff–consumer, staff–relatives and staff–staff relationships and a supportive workplace culture for staff work ability and capacity to provide high quality care. Conclusions It is possible to improve practice in community and residential aged care, given: (i) enough staff; (ii) better training in person‐centred practice; and (iii) a supportive staff culture that encourages staff to put their training into practice.