Better health and ageing for all Australians

Encouraging Better Practice in Aged Care Initiative

EBPAC Round 3

The EBPAC initiative aims to encourage and support the uptake of evidence-based, person-centred, better practice in Australian Government subsidised aged care services.

In this section:

Overview

EBPAC Round 3 projects commenced in June 2012 and will conclude in June 2015.

Under this funding round of EBPAC, organisations have established consortiums that include residential aged care facilities and/or community aged care services, researchers and educators to implement the most up to date evidence-based care practices for recipients of residential and community aged care services.

The projects focused on improving evidence-based clinical practice in the areas clinical leadership, oral health, wound management, social engagement and physical activity, emotional wellbeing, person-centred dementia support and a Model of Sustainable Culture Change in Residential Aged Care.

Clinical Leadership Projects

Community Projects

Residential Project

Summary of current projects funded under EBPAC Round 3

Projects focus on the areas clinical leadership, oral health, wound management, social engagement and physical activity, emotional wellbeing, person-centred dementia support and a Model of Sustainable Culture Change in Residential Aged Care.
Top of page

Clinical Leadership (2 projects)

Lead Organisation - Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE (MSIT)

The Bridging the Leadership Skill Gap project aims to improve leadership competence within the aged care sector by providing leadership training for multi-disciplinary teams within residential and community aged care services. Aged care leaders participating in the project will receive expert mentored support while undertaking work-based learning projects to improve client outcomes. MSIT and the Department of Education and Training QLD will work with up to 30 aged care services, with varying demographics in Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia.

Lead Organisation - Resthaven Incorporated

The Clinical Mentoring: From Evidence Base to Outcomes for Older People project aims to determine the effectiveness of the clinical mentoring model in residential and community aged care services in bringing about workplace and practice change and improving clinical outcomes for older people. Resthaven will work with 11 aged care services, of varying demographics, in Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australia.

Community Aged Care Evidence Translation (6 projects)

Lead Organisation - Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) Melbourne

The Better Practice for Older People living with or at risk of chronic wounds in the community project aims to translate wound management clinical practice guidelines into an e-learning package, utilising a clinical leadership model. The project aims to deliver an e-learning client education package for care recipients to promote and support the uptake of better wound management practice. RDNS will work with five community aged care services in Victoria and Western Australia.

]Lead Organisation - South Australian Dental Service[

The Building Better Oral Health Communities project aims to develop a sustainable oral health practice model for frail older people living in the community. The project builds on the highly successful oral health EBPAC Round 1 project, the outcomes of which were rolled out nationally in 2010. It aims to extend the model through adapting the resources developed in that project to suit the community care context. SA Dental Service will to work with five aged care providers and assist up to 800 clients within outer metropolitan, regional and rural communities as well as indigenous communities within SA and NSW.
Top of page

Lead Organisation - Uniting Care Community Options (UCCO)

The Person-centred Consumer-directed community aged care project aims to develop a training package to assist community aged care providers deliver holistic, person-centred, consumer directed care. A web-based e-learning package will also be developed to assist with the delivery of face to face training and extend the reach of the project to additional sites, as well as assist in its sustainability. UCCO will work with aged care providers to assist up to 200 clients, including people from cultural and linguistically diverse communities, indigenous communities as well as families living in outer metropolitan, regional, rural and remote regions of Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Lead Organisation - Alzheimer’s Australia Vic

The Person-Centred Dementia Support in the Community project aims to develop and disseminate evidence-based resources to support community based services and improve the quality of services for people with dementia in receipt of home based packaged care services. The project will develop a Person-Centred Community Dementia Support Framework and Organisational Self-Assessment Tool that will assist providers to assess how well their organisational structures, systems and processes facilitate best-practice person-centred support for clients with dementia. A training strategy is also proposed to assist providers to implement the changes identified. Alzheimer’s Australia Vic will work with five aged care providers, assisting up to 1000 clients, on a national basis.

Lead Organisation - Chinese Community Social Services Centre Inc. (CCSSCI)

The Home-based Preferred Music Listening Program project aims to improve the mood status of clients through a preferred music listening program. Packaged care service delivery will be enhanced through the provision of a music program that is tailored to clients’ individual preferences. The outcomes are expected to reduce anxiety and depression in packaged care clients and reduced stress of carers through the encouragement of more positive care giving activities. Outcomes for care workers are expected to increase job satisfaction as well as knowledge and skills in person-centred aged care provision. CCSSCI will work with five community aged care services, and support 70 clients, in Melbourne, Victoria.

Lead Organisation - University of NSW

The Lifestyle Engagement and Activity Program (LEAP) for life implementation project in community care aims to assist community care providers to develop meaningful activities for their clients, with a focus on social engagement and physical activity. The project builds on work previously undertaken in the residential aged care context to test is applicability within community care. The project will use a train-the-trainer approach to deliver targeted training for case managers as well as care workers. University of NSW will work with 6 community aged care services in NSW.

Residential Aged Care Evidence Translation (1 project)

The Sustainable Culture Change in Residential Aged Care project was funded through round one of the Aged Care Service Improvement and Healthy Ageing Grants Fund.

Lead Organisation - University of Western Australia

The Sustainable Culture Change in Residential Aged Care project aims to develop an organisational culture change toolkit and training resources, and assess its effectiveness in relation to resident benefits, work culture, leadership and communication. The University Western Australia will work with eight facilities in Western Australia and Queensland to trial the toolkit and resources with the view of identifying the requirements for sustainability of an organisational culture change intervention. The project will also promote the widespread implementation of the toolkit and training resources throughout the aged care sector nationally.
Top of page