Aged Care Resources - for clinicians and students

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Relevant Aged Care Websites

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH:  AGEING AND AGED CARE

General Website

• Comprehensive resource, most practical information is either in publications, for consumers or the resource site listed below. Users can search each section for desired topics.
• This site is valuable for general aged care information and as a starting point when searching for information on rarer topics.

Resource Site for Clinicians (equally useful for students)

• This site is a resource site for Aged Care Clinicians with an A to Z listing of resources. One can look at documents via topics.
• Topics covered include Falls, Infection Control, Incontinence, Palliative Care and Minimising functional decline in Acute, Subacute and Residential Care Facilities.
• Very useful site when looking for fact sheets and general information.

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PALLIATIVE CARE CURRICULUM FOR UNDERGRADUATES

Palliative Care Curriculum for Undergraduates

• Site contains tutorials and videos for students working with patients who are palliative.

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AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT:  MY AGED CARE

Australian Government:  My Aged Care site

• Government site aimed at assisting people navigate the aged care system.
• Easy to read site, which explains complicated topics to consumers ranging from services available and funding.

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VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT:  ACUTE AGED CARE INTERFACE SITE

Health.Vic:  Older People in Hospital

• Age Friendly Policies and Practices - Managing older people in the health service environment
• Best Practice Approaches to Minimise Functional Decline in the Older Person across the Acute, Sub-acute and Residential Aged Care Settings
• A Guide for Assessing Older People in Hospitals
• Stroke Care Pathway: a resource for health professionals
• Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Delirium in Older People
• The ‘how to’ guide turning knowledge into practice in the care of older people
• Delirium Care Pathways

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Examples of Aged Care Websites for Specific Topics

DEMENTIA

Oz Care Dementia Support Site

• This site offers education and training regarding Dementia produced by the not for profit organisation, Oz Care.
• If your students will be working in an environment with a large population of patients/clients with dementia this site is an excellent starting point.
• Divided into sections i)  About Dementia (theory) – very easy to read, enables the student to obtain a good understanding of the practical components with links to associations and support agencies   ii) Support services – also includes links to the University of Queensland Psychology clinic YouTube_TM videos and links to a website with practical hints for carers and stories from carers iii) What’s new – contains latest information and details of courses for health professionals

Communicating with a Patient/Client with Dementia (MESSAGE)

• MESSAGE is an acronym for a communication strategy used with dementia patients/clients. It stands for Maximise attention; Expression and body language; keep it Simple; Support their conversation; Assist with visual aids; Get their message and Encourage and engage in communication.
• University of Queensland Dementia Care have very good, short practical YouTube_TM videos as well as an easy to navigate website which explains communication strategies.
• These resources are excellent in assisting your students' communication with patients/clients with dementia.

Department of Health:  Ageing and Aged Care

• The Department of Health and Ageing's 'Carer's Gateway' provides a comprehensive range of resources, including information and resources for families and carers of people with dementia.
• If your student has minimal contact with patients/clients with dementia, this site will provide them with a basic introduction.

Other Useful Resources 

• Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre - Clinical Practice Guidelines and Principles of Care for People with Dementia (Guideline Adaptation Committee. Clinical Practice Guidelines and Principles of Care for People with Dementia. Sydney. Guideline Adaptation Committee; 2016.)

• DementiaKT Hub - provides resources and education to assist users to gain understanding on knowledge translation and implementing innovations in dementia care.

• Dementia Training Australia - a national approach to dementia education and training
• Caring for Cognitive Impairment - Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare
• Dementia Australia
• Behaviour Management – A Guide to Good Practice:Managing Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD)

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PALLIATIVE CARE

Website (mentioned in section 1 – developed for undergraduate students)

• Excellent, practical website which contains tutorials, and videos. Covers general principles of palliative care as well as some focus areas which include multidisciplinary care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander populations and caring for children.
• Highly recommended for students working in a palliative care area. The videos are also valuable resources for students working in a multidisciplinary environment and also for those working with patients/clients from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background.

Department of Health:  Ageing and Aged Care

• This site has valuable resources relating specifically to using a palliative approach in a residential Aged Care setting.
• Section of website devoted to Palliative care which is informative and contains links to sites listed below.
• Multitude of publications produced and can be ordered from this site. A publication that is available on line is ‘Guidelines for a Palliative Approach in Residential Aged Care’.  It is a comprehensive guideline including general information about palliative care, family support, end of life care, pain management.

Care Search – The Palliative Care Knowledge network

• It includes sections for the community, health professionals and a research/education section.
• The community section is very practical and includes videos relating to topics such as end of life, grief, how to care and living with the illness.
• The health professional section provides the latest evidence to its users on topics including patient management and specific diseases. It includes a section specifically related to allied health.
• The research/education section includes some powerpoints about how to use the site, information on courses and links to web based learning.
• If your student’s placement is primarily palliative care or your student is struggling with the emotions around their patients/clients end of life, this website would be valuable for them.

Palliative Care Australia

• National Peak Body for palliative care in Australia.
• It has resources for health professionals. 
• These include fact sheets on topics including education in opioids and standards for general practice.
• It also has booklets on topics including guidelines for a palliative approach in residential aged care, training modules and a self-directed learning package.
• It has resources for consumers which are easy to read and topics range from palliative care, understanding grief and pain and pain management.
• This site is valuable if you are after simple fact sheets for your students on the topic.

Palliative Care Online Training

• This is a Department of Health and Ageing free training site.
• It requires registration and involves four on line modules which take six to eight hours to complete. It is based on the Guidelines for a Palliative approach in a community setting (please refer to section 2B above). It includes reflection, screening and assessment skills, end of life conversations, own self-care and resilience and networking.
• This site is more valuable for the clinician, however if your student would benefit from more intensive information than this would be worthwhile.

Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach

• Forms part of the Palliative Care Education and Training Collaborative
• Aims to enhance the capacity of health professionals to deliver a palliative care approach through their participation in either clinical placements in specialist palliative care services or interactive workshops

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UNDERSTANDING FUNDING AND SERVICES AVAILABLE

• The My Aged Care website is a good starting point to understand the costs and different services available. It is written for the general public. This site is worthwhile for all students to review to obtain a good background knowledge of services and funding.
• It is divided into sections including finding a service, eligibility and financing.
• The Department of Health and Ageing website also has sections explaining funding and services. The My Aged Care site is particularly user friendly.

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EQUIPMENT SUPPLY WITH THE MEDICAL AID SUBSIDY SCHEME (MASS)

• This site is important for students to review if they are working with the MASS scheme. The depth of review would be dependent on individual requirements.
• The Queensland government has a home page describing MASS.
• It is divided into sections according to type of aid e.g. mobility, oxygen, continence.

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AUSTRALIAN COMMISSION ON SAFETY AND QUALITY IN HEALTH CARE 

• This is a worthwhile site for all students to review in order to understand principles of safe, patient centred care.
• This topic is well covered on this website.
• There is a booklet summarising the topic.

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