“They take a lot of pressure off us”: Volunteers reducing staff and family care burden and contributing to quality of care for older patients with cognitive impairment in rural hospitals

Annaliese Blair*, Catherine Bateman, Katrina Anderson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: 1Explore the ability of trained volunteers to provide person-centred care focusing on nutrition/hydration support, hearing/visual aids and activities in rural hospitals for older patients with dementia and/or delirium. 2Explore the impacts and challenges of volunteer care for family carers and hospital staff. Methods: Staff were surveyed about their confidence, stress and satisfaction at 6 months post-implementation. Focus groups with staff and interviews with families explored program successes, challenges and enabling factors. Results: Volunteers integrated themselves into the care team, providing person-centred care, increased safety and quality of care for patients and a reduced burden for staff and families. Key enablers were clear processes for screening, training and supporting volunteers. Key challenges included initial role delineation, staff/volunteer trust and sustainability. Conclusion: The program is reported by families and staff as being effective in addressing the main barriers to providing person-centred care for older adults with cognitive impairment in rural acute hospitals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)34-45
Number of pages12
JournalAustralasian Journal on Ageing
Volume38
Issue numberS2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2019
Externally publishedYes

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