Integrating social engagement instruments into Australian community aged care assessments to enhance service provision

Rich social relationships contribute to improved well-being and health outcomes, yet aged care client assessments tend to focus almost exclusively on physical issues. We aim to explore the experiences of aged care staff following their use of social engagement and well-being instruments as part of routine assessments for home-care clients. The social engagement (Australian Community Participation Questionnaire, ACPQ) and well-being (ICEpop CAPability Measure for Older Adults, ICECAP-O) instruments were embedded into the centralised information system of an Australian aged care provider. Staff administered these instruments during routine client assessments across a 9-month period involving 289 assessments. Semistructured interviews with 12 staff members were conducted and themes explored using qualitative content analysis. Key factors related to the acceptability of instrument adoption were found. Staff reported the instruments were convenient to use and were valuable in eliciting information for care plan development. Staff found that the instruments complemented their standard assessment procedures and did not disrupt their routine workload. They emphasised that the information gained greatly assisted their discussions with clients, identified social needs, and enhanced client involvement in decisions about desired services. There were also some challenging elements, including staff concerns regarding their ability to deal with emotional responses from clients evoked by the survey questions. ACPQ and ICECAP-O are useful tools for identifying psychosocial client needs, are feasible for use by large-scale aged care organisations and provide valuable information to guide decision-making about services. Future research should identify the long-term effects on improving social participation and client outcomes.