Sustainability depends on careful implementation
Sector-wide sustainability will only occur when aged care services are conceptualised as being part of a broader health and care ecosystem, writes Dr Claudia Meyer.
Knowing that this issue of AAA includes a feature on infection control, I was driven to do a quick scan of recent work in this space. My very broad search for ‘aged care infection control’ brought up over 19,000 results from 2024 alone – even for us seasoned researchers, there’s nothing wrong with using Google Scholar as a first step.
The vast range of studies on infection control related to topics such as urinary tract infections and catheter care, incontinence, wound care, oral health, post-hospital care, environmental controls, vaccinations and adverse drug reactions.
Whatever the specific purpose or target, infection control is crucial in aged care. But even as so much time and effort goes into building the evidence, it takes about 17 years for that evidence to be put into practice. Even then, only one in five interventions makes it to routine clinical care.
There is a real risk of evidence being lost in the busyness of our everyday work
Evidence-based practice is a well-known concept in the aged care sector in Australia and internationally. Without planned implementation, however, there is a real risk of evidence being lost in the busyness of our everyday work.
Indeed, successful interventions depend on successful implementation. Implementation science seeks to address this gap by promoting the systematic uptake and evaluation of evidence into routine practice.
In my role as senior research fellow at Bolton Clarke Research Institute, I recently delivered a presentation at BCRI’s 2024 symposium titled Implementation in the real world of aged and community care.
While acknowledging that it is a complex, messy and hard process, I was pleased to have the opportunity to share strategies and processes for implementing evidence into aged care practice.
Looking specifically at implementation sustainability, I am guided by the key questions of why we need to change, which strategies will be used, who will be involved and what difference the change will make.
From my broader perspective as president of AAG, I know that sector-wide sustainability will only occur when aged care services are conceptualised as being part of a broader health and care ecosystem.
We must continue to advocate for an aged care system that offers equity and fairness, quality and safety, efficiency and sustainability.
Dr Claudia Meyer is president of the Australian Association of Gerontology
More stakeholder views from this edition
- Tom Symondson: It’s time for all to get behind aged care
- Patricia Sparrow: Older Australians need certainty
- Christina Wyatt: Reform impacts on occupational therapy
We hope you enjoyed this article – please add your comments below
Visit our features portal for more in-depth stories
