Enhancing the capacity of the Aged Care workforce to identify and respond to alcohol and other drug use among older people

April 2019
Staff: 

NCETA

Project description: 

The oldest cohort of the Baby Boomer generation is starting to transition into aged care services. Their lifestyle, needs and expectations are significantly different from prior consumers of aged care services. These changes in the patterns of AOD use among older people and their needs represent an important health and wellbeing policy and practice issue for aged care providers and their frontline workers.

The 2018 Aged Care Workforce Strategy identifies the need to address aged care workers’ current and future competencies and skills requirements.

To enhance the capacity of aged care services to more effectively respond to AOD-related issues, NCETA is expanding its research program to assist specialist and generalist health and welfare workers to prevent, assess and respond to the needs of older people.

To do this, NCETA will be conducting a survey of aged care workers’ views, experiences and skills in responding to clients’ alcohol and other (non-medical) drug consumption within the context of delivering high quality person-centred care.

The findings from the survey will be used to highlight AOD-related workforce development priorities and inform workforce development policy and practice in the Aged Care sector.