Connecting the pieces - A diversity, wellness & reablement podcast: Recent Episodes
Eastern Sector Development Team
The Eastern Sector Development Team host conversations about inclusive and responsive aged care services. We promote an intersectional approach to service delivery that recognises and responds to consumers diversity, their preferences, lived experiences and supports them to be empowered and active participants in their care. Our podcasts will explore person-centred care through a wellness and reablement model that is intrinsically aligned to progressive and inclusive diversity practice.
Trauma is a pervasive experience that can affect people of all ages, genders, backgrounds, and walks of life, including older people. In this episode we focus on the importance of being trauma aware and informed when delivering aged care services and supports.
We discuss the different experiences of trauma for some older people, and consider how these might impact, or present as barriers for an older person accessing or receiving aged care. In addition to highlighting the relationship between trauma informed care and a rights-based approach we share our thoughts about how good trauma informed practice aligns with the delivery of inclusive, person centre care that is tailored to the specific needs, preferences, and experiences of each older person.
A new rights-based approach will soon be introduced to the aged care system. This approach will underpin the new Aged Care Act and will guide the development and delivery of aged care system into the future.
So, what is a rights-based approach? Why is it important? How will it impact the way services are delivered, and importantly what will it means for older people who access aged care services? In this episode we explore these questions while discussing how a rights-based approach aligns with aged care reform, the strengthened quality standards, and inclusive person-centred practice, where each older person is placed at the centre of care.
When working with multicultural and multi-faith people and communities it’s important to consider their cultural needs, preferences, and beliefs in order to create a safe environment, and ensure the delivery of appropriate and inclusive services. In this episode, Geraldine Jeremiah, Access and Support Worker at the Migrant Information Centre (Eastern) shares her wealth of experience working with and supporting older people from a broad range of different cultural and religious backgrounds and people whose first language isn’t English. Geraldine discusses the access issues and barriers that people from multi-faith and multicultural communities can experience when engaging with the aged care sector and provides some great tips about what staff can do to gain trust and create a culturally safe environment. This includes how to maximise the use of interpreting services and key considerations when supporting multicultural and multi-faith people who are accessing a social group setting, allied health and nursing services and in-home services.
Making Elders feel safe, secure and supported needs to be a priority for all services, but how many are in a position to offer the individualised level of care required? We are privileged to have Elke Smirl CEO of Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place to guide us through this episode and present practical, engaging and effective ways to make this possible. Elke, a very proud descendant of both the Kaurna and Nurrungga peoples of the Adelaide Plains and Yorke Peninsula shares her experiences and expertise on creating culturally safe environments and approaches to building trust and rapport with Elders. We also learn the importance of developing a holistic approach when working with Elders, ensuring the relationship is built on listening, an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture and history as well as the impacts of racism and intergenerational trauma.
https://esdt.com.au/
https://mmigp.org.au/
We all aim for our services to be welcoming and we want to create environments that make people feel comfortable and safe. However, we can unintentionally create barriers for people, reinforcing their concerns that our service or our staff maybe unwelcoming, unsafe or unable to help. In this final episode of our three-part series about inclusive practice for older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex people, we explore how aged care providers can improve the quality of service for older LGBTI people.
Pauline Crameri and Andrew Rogers from Val’s LGBTI Ageing & Aged Care once again share their expertise and knowledge about the importance of providing safe, welcoming and inclusive service models, that enable older LGBTI people to be their authentic self. The episode explores the delivery of safe, affirming and quality care for older LGBTI people within a centre-based, home or health care setting. Pauline and Andrew provide tips about developing and delivering services that enable older LGBTI people and their allies to be included and celebrated
Access further reading and resources on Val’s LGBTI Ageing & Aged Care website: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/arcshs/health-and-wellbeing/lgbti-ageing-and-aged-care
Aged care assessments (at all levels) help service providers to understand who a person is, what’s important to them and what they need in order to live as independently as possible. Assessments should be grounded in inclusive and respectful conversation where older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex people feel heard, confident, and empowered to be involved in discussion and decisions about their care and support.
In part 2 of this 3-part series focusing on inclusive practices for older LGBTI people, we again welcome Pauline Crameri and Andrew Rogers from Val’s LGBTI Ageing & Aged Care. Pauline and Andrew share their insights about what needs to be in place for older LBGTI people to feel safe and supported throughout the assessment process and how organisations and staff can create an inclusive, safe and welcoming assessment environment. This includes the importance of understanding history, the use of authentic communication and language, building trust and creating environments where older LGBTI people are comfortable to share if they are LGBT or I (or not).
Access the LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Language Guide: https://www.vic.gov.au/inclusive-language-guide
Access further reading and resources on Val’s LGBTI Ageing & Aged Care website: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/arcshs/health-and-wellbeing/lgbti-ageing-and-aged-care
Creating equitable and culturally safe access to services for older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender or Intersex people requires us to understand and respond to the access barriers
experienced by the LGBTI community. At both an organisational and personal level, this
means implementing real change that addresses the history of inequity and discrimination to
create environments that are welcoming, safe and inclusive for older LGBTI people.
In this episode the ESDT team chat with Pauline Crameri and Andrew Rogers from Val’s LGBTI Ageing & Aged Care. Pauline and Andrew discuss the historical experiences of older people and importantly, the contemporary relevance of these experiences when accessing services. The podcast provides practical tips and examples that will help you to progress the implementation of real change based on safety, trust, and authentic respect.
Access the LGBTI review tool and education on Val’s LGBTI Ageing & Aged Care website:
https://www.latrobe.edu.au/arcshs/health-and-wellbeing/lgbti-ageing-and-aged-care
Good nutrition is essential for all of us, but even more important as we age. Despite this there is still limited knowledge within the general community and the aged care sector about the role of a dietician and the valuable support they can offer. In this episode, we welcome Lisa Renn, National Clinical Lead for Dietetics at EACH who shares her passion and expertise in working with older people to support their dietary requirements and independence at home.
In addition to busting some myths about dietetics, Lisa provides some great insights about how our dietary needs change over time, and how service providers can contribute to people’s overall wellbeing by asking some simple nutrition assessment questions. Lisa’s practical and person-centred approach to supporting good nutrition is refreshing and encourages service providers to promote and engage older people in discussions about food and food intake using relevant referral pathways.
To view the nutrition assessment tool Lisa developed visit the ESDT website
If we are to truly create inclusive and welcoming environments, it is important that people are comfortable to be themselves and know they are appreciated and respected. It is for this reason that we say it is necessary to celebrate, not tolerate diversity. In this episode, Dale and Lisa will discuss the approach to celebrating diversity, the role it plays in creating equitable dynamics between people and the need to communicate your support and celebration of diversity. Good practice examples from Connecting the Pieces resource, Building Culturally Inclusive Social Support Groups and the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing are shared to help listeners support the implementation of inclusive practice.
To be connected to their community, organisations need to learn about the diversity, experiences and aspirations of people living in their local area. They need to ensure there is representation of the local community within their clients, staff and volunteers.
Understanding these demographic profiles, identifying areas of underrepresentation and responding to the experiences of local people is all part of “Knowing your Community”. In this podcast the ESDT discuss the idea of “Knowing your Community” in detail, with consideration given to data and demographic profiles, removing barriers and the need to develop evidenced-based plans for good diversity practice to have an impact.
Applying a diversity lens across service planning, design and delivery involves thinking about diversity in a way that focuses on who a person is and what’s important to them, ensuring each consumer’s experience is individualised and responsive. It challenges us to find the systemic issues that create barriers and inequality, and it dispels the myth that some communities are “hard to reach”. In this podcast the ESDT chat about some of the common misconceptions about diversity – including what it is, why responding to consumers diversity is important and how providers can apply a diversity lens to remove access barriers and enable the delivery of good person-centred practice.
In the third of our series exploring ageism and elder abuse we speak with Sue McGrath Senior Policy Advisor to the Older Australians Campaign at The Benevolent Society to discuss ageism in the workplace. Sue explains the ways in which ageism manifests in the workplace, shares her insights and experiences campaigning for improved workplace practices and highlights the benefits to employers and employees from having older people in the workforce.
For further information
EveryAGE Counts -
www.everyagecounts.org.au/
https://twitter.com/EveryAGECounts
www.facebook.com/EveryAGECounts
www.instagram.com/everyagecounts/
Inner East Primary Care Partnership
https://iepcp.org.au/
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) is recognised each year on 15 June to highlight one of the worst manifestations of ageism and inequality in our society, elder abuse. In this podcast Jill Exon, Elder Abuse Prevention Coordinator at the Eastern Community Legal Centre discusses the need to take a primary prevention approach to elder abuse in order to achieve sustained change and reflects on the importance of WEAAD to raise initial awareness. Jill shares her experiences of talking with older people as part of the OPERA project and gaining valuable insight into their experiences of being older and ageism. The podcast also explores the role the Eastern Elder Abuse Network plays in supporting members to fully understand and respond to the impacts of ageism and elder abuse.
For further information visit
Eastern Community Legal Centre
http://eclc.org.au/what-we-do/partnerships-and-projects/elder-abuse/
Older People Respect and Ageing Project
opera.eclc.org.au
eclc.org.au/what-we-do/partnerships-and-projects/elder-abuse/prevention-of-elder-abuse-project/
Inner East Primary Care Partnership
https://iepcp.org.au/
Following extended COVID lock downs in Victoria, the return to face-to-face service for social support programs funded through the CHSP is being welcomed by clients and service providers alike.
In this podcast the ESDT speak with Susi Richter from Accent Home Care and Gillian Roebuck from Donwood Community Aged Care Services about their return to service strategies. Susi and Gillian reflect on their experiences and discuss how their clients’ involvement in risk assessment influenced and shaped their approach.
Ageism is described as the most commonly accepted form of discrimination. Often it's subconscious, but the entrenched nature of ageist attitudes has significant and ongoing impacts on people's health, wellbeing, confidence and opportunities.
In this podcast Joel Pringle from the Benevolent Society and Sharon Porteous from the Inner East Primary Care Partnership will discuss what ageism is, how to tackle it and the EveryAGE Counts campaign from national and local perspective.
The campaign raises awareness about ageism, challenges stereotypes and encourages people to speak up in order to end ageism.
Visit the websites below for resources, pledges and quizzes discussed in the podcast
www.everyagecounts.org.au/
iepcp.org.au/key-project/ageism/
In late 2020 Katherine Harding, shared her knowledge and experience about the ‘Specific Timely Appointments for Triage’ (or STAT model) with Occupational Therapists across Victoria who support client independence in the CHSP program.
In this podcasts, Katherine provides an introduction to the STAT model and discusses how it can help health services to manage wait lists and reduce waiting times. Katherine discusses the key features and benefits of the model and provides her expert advice on implementing the model within a range of health settings.
Listeners can access further information about the STAT model at https://stat.trekeducation.org/
In part 2 of our Reablement podcast series, Dale and Lisa (the eastern sector development team) speak with Dee Chand, Coordinator with the Maroondah City Council Regional Assessment Service. Dee shares her insights and experience of identifying, motivating, and assessing people who are likely to benefit from a reablement service. In addition, Dee provides some interesting examples of reablement services; as well as some great advice about how RAS and service providers can work together to help people get back to doing the things that are important to them.
The first in a 2-part series, this podcast focuses on supporting a consistent and shared understanding about Reablement - a priority for the CHSP programme. In this podcast, Dale and Lisa (the eastern sector development team) explore the definition of reablement and its relationship with wellness and diversity and discuss some of the key elements that will contribute to good reablement practice. Dale and Lisa also discuss some of the potential barriers or misconceptions around reablement as well as some of the strategies, processes and practices that service providers might apply to ensure positive outcomes for people accessing a reablement service.
In part 2 of this podcast we will hear from a local RAS provider about their approach and experience with reablement.
Inclusive and responsive care planning underpins community aged care service delivery. It helps the service provider to learn who the client is, what's important to them and what they want to achieve to live as independently as possible. With the onset of COVID-19 and the suspension of face-to-face service delivery, good care planning processes have enabled service providers to respond to to the identified needs of their clients during this difficult time. With the return of face-to-face service delivery eminent, care planning plays an equally important role in understanding what has changed for clients and what they want and need from services. Vicki Bayly, Social Support Manage from BASScare shares their approach to care planning and how they managed the process.
Deb Benger is the Senior Manager in the allied health team at Access Health and Community. Deb shares what her and the team put in place in response to COVID-19 and how they maintained safe and continuous health services. Deb discusses the barriers and challenges they faced, but also the processes and flexible approaches which have supported them.
This podcast is produced by the Eastern Sector Development Team (ESDT).
The ESDT celebrates the diversity of the EMR and actively supports our funded service providers to make their services inclusive and accessible for everyone. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and pay respect to elders past, present and emerging.
The ESDT is supported by the Australian Government Department of Health. Visit the Department of Health website (http://www.health.gov.au/) Disclaimer: Although funding for this website has been provided by the Australian Government, the material contained herein does not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Australian Government.