Supporting adoption of the palliative approach toolkit in residential aged care: an exemplar of organisational facilitation for sustainable quality improvement

Abstract

Background: National guidelines and resources to support a palliative approach in residential aged care were designed to improve the provision of palliative and end-of-life care; however, implementation has been sporadic.Objective: To support implementation of a palliative approach in aged care using a facilitation training model and existing palliative approach toolkit resources.Methods: Organisation-wide educational intervention delivered by a specialised Palliative Approach Facilitator for 6 months. Training included palliative approach principles, advance care planning, clinical management, equipment use, case conferencing, care planning and self-care.Results: The intervention included 197 internal and external staff and reviewed advanced care plans for 484 clients. Increased staff knowledge and confidence with discussions involving advance care planning, end-of-life care and supporting bereaving families resulted.Conclusion: This targeted intervention addressed barriers to adoption of a palliative approach, representing a flexible training model for building workforce capacity, promoting quality improvement and sustaining best practice in aged care settings.