Australian Home Care Workers’ Learning of Safe Manual Handling: Environmental Considerations

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. How home care workers adapt what they learn in manual handling classroom training sessions to their workplaces (i.e., their clients’ homes) is central to their own safety, as their musculoskeletal injuries continue to occur at unacceptably high rates. For this inquiry, new workers were directly observed in their workplaces following classroom training. Findings from these observations propose three environmental considerations for supporting new workers to learn safe manual handling techniques: (1) The physical setting for manual handling is important, (2) clients and their significant others may offer a valuable form of learning support, and (c) when initially learning the requirements for their roles, new workers should be encouraged to focus only on the manual handling tasks at hand

Brief classroom training sessions for workplace readiness: are they effective?

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Classroom training sessions for new home care workers (HCWs) are often brief and ad hoc, varying in format and content. Yet the application of this training may be central to worker and client safety. A qualitative approach was adopted for this inquiry, comprising two separate but related practical studies. In the first, exploratory study, classroom training was observed, and HCWs were interviewed following their classroom training. Based on these findings, a set of interventions was implemented and evaluated in the second study. Findings from the overall inquiry suggest that brief classroom sessions are effective, however, a format which encourages the development of dispositional and procedural knowledge is most important. Learning in the classroom may also be enhanced with the provision of a range of written materials to trainees. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of brief classroom training sessions, and suggestions for future research

Developing manual handling skills in relative social isolation: A case study of Australian home care workers

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. This paper elaborates how home care workers develop skills in their workplaces after only brief classroom manual handling training and suggests how this development may be supported in situations of relative social isolation. A qualitative approach was adopted for this inquiry, in which new home care workers were directly observed and interviewed in their workplaces at two points over a 12-week predetermined training trajectory. When developing skills in their socially isolated workplaces, these workers followed a pathway that differs from traditional accounts. They developed procedural capacities first, rendered this knowledge and skill into principled understandings and then adapted these understandings to become skillful in a range of other tasks. Moreover, these workers placed high value on sociality in developing their skills. Consequently, a training format which focuses on the development of procedural knowledge and provides opportunities for shared practice is most important for learning in circumstances of relative social isolation

Learning in the Absence of Direct Supervision: Person-Dependent Scaffolding

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. Contemporary accounts of learning emphasise the importance of immediate social partners such as teachers and co-workers. Yet, much of our learning for work occurs without such experts. This paper provides an understanding of how and why new home care workers use scaffolding to learn and enact safe manual handling techniques in their workplaces, and suggests how their learning may be supported in the absence of direct supervision. A qualitative approach was adopted for this inquiry, in which newly recruited workers were directly observed and interviewed in their workplaces following classroom training. When learning without direct supervision, these workers were found to use the scaffolding in person-dependent ways. They constructed, engaged with, and subsequently dismantled their scaffolding as personally required, rather than relying on their teacher to decide how and when these forms of learning support should be used and withdrawn. Consequently, a range of scaffolds should be provided in the workplaces of these individuals, without rigid stipulations about how and when they are to be accessed. That is, the learners themselves should be encouraged to decide on the type and frequency of their interaction with the scaffolding provided, and to access or withdraw this support as required

Health literacy support for Australian home-based care recipients: A role for homecare workers?

© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis. Clear links have been established between low health literacy (HL) levels and poor health outcomes. One means of improvement may be found in the rapidly growing paid home care workforce, whose direct and frequent contact with aged/disabled care recipients positions them to provide HL support. This study examines Australian homecare worker (HCW) experiences in HL when providing assistance to their care recipients. A self-reported cross-sectional survey collected data from 75 HCWs. They reported concerns about their clients’ HL, yet were cautious about providing support in this area. HL levels of the HCWs themselves were unconvincing, and the majority requested targeted education and training. Further research is needed into HL levels of both HCWs and care recipients, client demographics, the types of HL support being requested of HCWs, a more detailed scoping of the HCW role, and the curriculum and pedagogies which may comprise a HL education and training program for HCWs

Learning manual handling without direct supervision or support: a case study of home care workers

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. How home care workers (HCWs) adapt their classroom training to their workplaces is central to their own safety and that of their care recipients. A case study approach was adopted for this inquiry into HCW training in Australia, where new workers were directly observed and interviewed in their workplaces following classroom training. Findings from the study advance four contributions: (a) learning is person-dependent, (b) artefacts in the form of written materials afford a valuable form of learning support; (c) opportunities for these workers to meet, share and refresh their knowledge are important for further development of occupational capacities; and (d) more organisational support for such socially isolated workers’ learning is needed

Systematic review and conceptual framework for health literacy training in health professions education

Purpose: This review investigates health literacy education interventions for health professions students in higher education settings with the aim of identifying core elements for the first conceptual framework for a health literacy curriculum. Method: A systematic literature search based on pre-specified inclusion criteria was conducted across education and health peer-reviewed literature - Academic Search Complete; CINAHL; MEDLINE (OVID); ProQuest Health & Medicine; SCOPUS (Elsevier); Australian Education Index Plus Text (AEIPT); Education Research Complete; ERIC; ProQuest Education. Twenty-eight peer-reviewed primary studies were found to be eligible and were systemically examined. Data on intervention characteristics, evaluation methods and key outcomes were extracted and content analysed. Results: Numerous health professions were represented in the examined studies, with undergraduate students principally targeted. The large majority of interventions reported positive results. Significant heterogeneity was found in instructional methods, evaluation instruments and outcomes. Instructional approaches ranged from single didactic to clinical and community placement interventions. Less than 40% of interventions used a pre/post evaluation design and control groups were used in only 3 of the included studies. The most successful interventions were found to be those that offered numerous training sessions and integrated knowledge and skill acquisition particularly when patient communication and assessment skills were developed within real-world settings with patients or community members. Review findings informed a draft health literacy training framework for conceptualizing multiple dimensions of health literacy training structure, design and assessment. Discussion/conclusion: Core aspects and best practice teaching elements for health professions health literacy training were identified. It was found that overall, this is an underdeveloped domain in the health professions education field. Future research should focus on identifying an agreed definition of health literacy for this field and structure and process opportunities for health literacy inter-professional education. Also needed is a much better understanding of the impact of health literacy training on specific health profession students, and over what time period to enable targeted curriculum and workforce education planning

An observational study of older patient specialling in acute hospital settings

© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Background: During hospitalisation, older people can quickly become disoriented and agitated. In these instances, ‘specialling’, involving close monitoring and observation of the person to prevent accidents, injuries and clinical deterioration is often required. Despite the widespread practice of older patient specialling, there is no evidence of the best model, or any clear guidelines around the essential requirements for this practice. Aim: This study aimed to examine specialling practices for hospitalised older patients in acute aged care wards. Method: Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained in an observational study of specialling practices for hospitalised older patients. Two validated observational tools were used to collect data on nursing care provided during specialling and patient responses to specialling over a three-month period. Findings: A total of 58 observations were undertaken of specialling practices for 12 hospital patients aged 65 years and over in four acute aged care wards. Delirium was the most common reason for older patient specialling. Most specialling was undertaking by Assistants in Nursing. Specialling interactions and responses were mainly positive. Positive specialling practices occurred when the staff special was familiar with the older patient and the ward in which specialling occurred. Specialling practices differed in relation to, the type of care required, the presence of the patients’ personal possessions in their immediate surroundings, the presence of medical devices, patient acuity and general ward busyness. Conclusion: These findings suggest that specialling practices differ according to patient need and that the staff member\u27s familiarity with the ward and their patients are important factors in positive older patient specialling. The specialling role needs much clearer definition, including the type of educational preparation and workload support that is appropriate to ensure safe and quality care