Digital experience supports PCAs to deliver holistic care

Spiritual care in ageing peak body Meaningful Ageing Australia has developed a web-based learning tool to help personal care assistants better understand holistic, person-centred care.

The learning program, Meet Akira, has been developed and co-designed over three years with personal care assistants, service providers, academics and older people.

It aims to improve personal care assistant’s understanding of spiritual care through the daily journey of personal care assistant Akira.

Learners see a video of Akira engaging in familiar daily scenarios and learn that:

• spiritual care is more than religious care
• their work already includes acts of spiritual care they may be unaware of
• spiritual care can enrich their own sense of professional value.

Meaningful Ageing Australia CEO Ilsa Hampton said developing the program has been a huge project.

“When people doing personal care work say that it is so real, and so helpful to them, you know that it has been worth every step,” Ms Hampton said.

The digital learning experience is accessible via mobile devices and computer and takes 10 minutes to complete.

The development of the project, pilot testing and implementation involved aged care providers Brightwater Care Group, UnitingCare Qld, Hall and Prior Aged Care, Fresh Hope Care, BaptistCare WA, Mercy Health and VMCH. It also involved University of Aberdeen professor of practical theology and pastoral care John Swinton, University of Otago senior lecturer in health promotion Dr Richard Egan and design group Portable.

The project has been co-funded by superannuation fund Prime Super.

Find out more here.

Comment on the story below. Follow Australian Ageing Agenda on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter and subscribe to AAA magazine for the complete aged care picture.