• A Charles Sturt University PhD research project seeks care workers aged 18 years or more who support people with dementia in their own homes, not in institutional residential care
• More Australians choose to remain at home as they age, and with 70 per cent of care for people living with dementia now occurring in their homes in the community, new challenges for workers in the homecare industry are not yet well understood
• Participant interviews will be conducted online via Zoom or face-to-face if preferred, before Friday 1 November

A Charles Sturt University PhD research project seeks care workers to interview to understand the scope of their role and how they navigate uncertainties or ‘grey areas’ when caring for people living with dementia in their own homes.

PhD student Ms Hilary Robinson (pictured left) in the Charles Sturt School of Psychology said an increasing number of Australians are choosing to remain at home as they age, with 70 per cent of care for people living with dementia now occurring in the home (ie ‘in the community’) (Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, 2022).

“This represents an important step forward for the wellbeing of older adults,” Ms Robinson said.

“However, this shift has also introduced new challenges for workers in the homecare industry which are not yet well understood.

“The need for clear role boundaries and strategies to support care workers in navigating complex situations is essential in the context of performing work within people’s private homes.

“By better understanding workers’ experiences of providing care in private homes and navigating challenges in this space, we can work toward improving conditions and support for those working in homecare.”

Ms Robinson said participation in this research will involve a 60 to 90-minute interview about the care worker’s experiences, and all interviews are confidential.

Anyone over 18 years old who is formally employed in a non-medical role to provide care to people living with dementia in their private homes (e.g., home or community support workers, aged care workers), and who can converse in English, is eligible to participate.

Ms Robinson said we often assume homes to be safe places, but the reality, reflected in recent literature, is that homecare workers commonly report an array of health, wellbeing and safety hazards in their daily work.

“The vulnerability of people living with dementia is so great that this often overshadows conversations about the vulnerability of workers who provide care,” she said.

“When worker wellbeing and safety are compromised, it impacts both the worker and the quality of care they can provide to consumers.

“My research seeks to acknowledge the foundational role that homecare workers play in providing aged care and the necessity to better understand the support needs of workers so that we can advocate for positive change and, in turn, higher quality care.”

Ms Robinson emphasised that for her current study she is seeking homecare workers who support people living with dementia in their own homes, and not aged care workers from residential (nursing home/institutional) settings.

Interviews will be conducted online via Zoom, or possibly face-to-face interview if preferred. This can be negotiated after contacting the researcher.

Interested participants can contact the researcher anytime up until Friday 1 November 2024.

Please email the researcher at hirobinson@csu.edu.au to indicate your interest and receive further details.

The project is supervised by Dr Rachel Hogg and Dr Jenni Greig in the Charles School of Psychology and Associate Professor Rachel Rossiter in the Charles Sturt School of Rural Medicine.