Shifting residential aged care culture from caring “for” residents to caring “about” residents is identified as a priority in a recent study published in the journal Palliative Care and Social Practice.
The study sought bereaved carers’ perspectives on palliative care in residential aged care homes to identify gaps and consider how service delivery can be improved.
The design was an online survey of bereaved family carers of people who died in residential aged care homes in Western Australia from 2021 to 2024, completed by 317 respondents.
Overall, bereaved carers whose relatives accessed palliative care reported better experiences for residents and themselves compared with those who did not, but the respondents called for a more person-centred care system.
As well as encompassing residents’ needs, more timely information, better communication, and appropriate resources to feel supported before and after bereavement, respondents wanted to be more involved in care decisions.
“This study makes three contributions to ageing policy discourse in Australia,” said the study’s first author, Professor Samar Aoun AM (Perron Institute Research Chair in Palliative Care at The University of Western Australia).
“It provides empirical evidence that despite policy directives towards person-centred care, residential aged care continues to operate through institutional “caring for” (transactional care) rather than “caring about” (relational care) frameworks.
“It reveals implementation gaps in palliative care policies, particularly in bereavement support and family involvement in care decisions, and advocates for a compassionate communities approach to care as a social practice and policy framework.
“Palliative care services have improved many aspects of care but there are notable gaps, including communication, emotional and spiritual care, carer involvement in decisions, and grief support.
“Transforming residential services from isolated providers into facilitators of community connections and networks becomes both a quality necessity and a sustainability strategy for an ageing population,” Professor Aoun said.
Co-authors of the paper are Dr Yong Hao Ng (National University of Singapore, Perron Institute and UWA), Professor Kirsten Auret (UWA), Dr Julie Brose (Perron Institute and UWA) and Professor Bruce Rumbold (La Trobe University and Perron Institute).
The evaluation was jointly funded by the Australian Government and End-of-Life Care Program, Western Australian Department of Health.
