practical living
Models for remodelling
Aged-care facilities undertaking refurbishments must decide on the value and benefit of every alteration, but which assessment tools should they use to help make these decisions?
Samantha Neylon interviewed by Dallas Bastian
Refurbishing a living environment in an aged-care facility may be the best option for providers dealing with changes to both funding and regulations, but there is a lack of research into the reference guides that project teams can use to identify priority areas.
This issue was the basis for a new study, published in the Australasian Journal on Ageing, that evaluated environment assessment tools to determine which would be suitable for a minor refurbishment of a residential aged-care facility.
The study, The effectiveness of environment assessment tools to guide refurbishment of Australian residential aged care facilities: A systematic review, focussed on seven domains: lighting, colour and contrast, sound, flooring, furniture, signage and wayfinding.
Aged Care Insite sits down with lead author Samantha Neylon, manager of specialised services( living environments and Seatec), at Brightwater Care Group, to find out which tools explored in the study may be useful for Australian providers and to discuss the key considerations for any minor refurbishment.
ACI: Why did you decide to explore different environment assessment tools used to guide refurbishment of Australian residential aged-care facilities? SN: There have been significant changes in the residential aged-care sector over the years in terms of funding, regulations, complexity of care needs and consumer expectations. Economic modelling and evaluations have indicated it is not always viable for organisations
( particularly not-for-profit) to build new facilities. Thus organisations need to consider the potential benefits of refurbishment – whether this be major or minor improvements – to the facility.
Being involved in a minor refurbishment project at a residential aged-care facility( RACF), it became apparent there was not a clear evidence base to act as a guide to the project team to identify what the refurbishment priorities were and why.
There was a skill set within the project team, particularly when it came to understanding the impacts ageing has on physical and sensory functions, which was vital for ensuring the resultant interventions were as functional for residents as possible and not based on aesthetics alone.
It became apparent that the training, reinforcement and repetition to have this more widely understood by all stakeholders could be more effective if there was a clear assessment to work from which was embedded into current evidence-based practice.
Charged with living environment service delivery in a residential aged-care organisation, I considered it essential to underpin interventions with the corresponding evidence base as much as possible. Thus I decided to explore different environment assessment tools to see if there was one that could be used by a RACF when undertaking minor refurbishments.
What are some of the key considerations for any provider planning a minor refurbishment? 1Form a collaborative team with diverse expertise and include consumer representation such as residents, family members and staff. 2Develop a clear and detailed brief as to what the interventions are going to be and why. Draw on the evidence base wherever possible to demonstrate how the resident outcomes will be improved. 3From this, develop your project plan and budget. This is often done too early and without thorough scoping and consultation. 4Consider repairs and ongoing maintenance from the outset, as some cheaper initiatives may prove to be more costly in the longer term. For example, painting skirting boards is a quick and instant way to provide effective colour and contrast strategies between flooring and the walls, but equipment such as trolleys, hoists and wheelchairs scratching and gouging the surface may render the use of timber or engineered thermoplastic products to be more cost effective in the longer run. 5Ensure the project team engages and liaises with stakeholders throughout the process and is open to flexibility, lateral thinking and innovation as minor refurbishments are often completed while the facility is fully operational. 6Remember that no matter how big or how small the project, every intervention has the potential to make a difference to the function and wellbeing of the older person living in the RACF.
The study identified 10 environment assessment tools. What criteria did they have to meet? The criteria for study inclusion included a measure of the physical environment, readily accessible( and preferably with an instruction manual), and measuring at least two minor refurbishment domains( the authors identified seven minor refurbishment domains in a previous study – lighting, colour / contrast, sound, flooring, furniture, signage and wayfinding).
The tools came from the UK, US and Australia and varied in length( from 59 items to assess through to 623 items) and complexity( from tick boxes through to requiring specific training
18 agedcareinsite. com. au