Put in place strategies to support a community experience that meets the needs and preferences of older people (Outcomes 1.1, 3.1 and 3.2).

Make sure you deliver aged care services that support a community experience that meets the needs and preferences of older people (Outcomes 1.1, 3.1 and 3.2).

Any strategies, activities or supports for older people need to be documented in their care and services plan. This should be part of your assessment and planning process (Outcome 3.1). Review and improve these plans in partnership with older people (Outcome 2.1). Make sure you support the older person’s right to dignity of risk when they want to take part in activities of their choosing (Outcome 1.3). These strategies, activities and supports should:

• meet older people’s needs, goals and preferences (Outcomes 1.1, 3.1 and 3.2)
• provide opportunities for them to take part in lifestyle activities and activities of daily living in a way that is meaningful to them. Meaningful means the older person feels valued for their role in the residential community. For example, being responsible for setting the table or taking care of the vegetable garden. Consider ways to provide older people with social purpose. For example, if an older person enjoys writing, ask them to write a welcome letter to a new resident.
• optimise the older person’s quality of life. For example, if an older person is happier spending time outside, provide them with opportunities to do activities outdoors, such as gardening or reading.
• support older people to develop and maintain social and personal relationships. This can include friendships within the residential home, and connections to friends, family and pets in the community. For example, workers could arrange video calls for older people with family or friends living overseas, or support older people to spend time with their pets.
• help older people do what they want to do. For example, workers need to be able to support an older person to go for a walk if this is something they enjoy.
• support older people to regain and maintain their physical, cognitive and mental functions by encouraging them to use their skills and strengths (Outcome 3.2). This supports their quality of life, gives them opportunities to take part in activities that would be part of their life at home, and helps them to maintain independence. For example, if an older person enjoys:
  • reading – you can support them with audiobooks or large print books
  • food and cooking – you can give them opportunities to take part in preparing meals.
• be culturally safe, trauma aware, healing informed and appropriate for people with diverse backgrounds (Outcome 1.1). This helps older people to maintain connections to their cultures and communities. This includes recognising how important it is for older people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander to maintain connection to community, culture, Country and Island Home.

Make sure your strategies to support a community experience are tailored to each older person’s assessed needs. This supports their sense of purpose and engagement. This is so they can:

• do the things they want to do, both inside and outside the residential community. This includes facilitating access to the community for activities outside the residential community.
• take part in meaningful activities they are interested in. Activities can be individual, group or partnered. Have processes to provide a range of regular and diverse activities that older people can choose to take part in. These can include:
  • social activities like bingo, book clubs or movie nights. This helps to minimise boredom and loneliness, and maintain social and personal relationships.
  • cultural, spiritual and religious activities they want to take part in. For example, taking part in cultural and holiday celebrations, cultural gatherings or days of significance, services at places of worship, or prayer and meditation sessions. Also, support older people to take part in culturally appropriate routines and practices, if they want to.
  • a range of planned, mentally engaging activities like trivia and quiz sessions, or games like sudoku, crosswords and jigsaw puzzles. This helps to maintain cognitive function and supports better mental health.
  • creative activities like arts and crafts, painting, knitting clubs or music therapy sessions. This helps to maintain cognitive function and support emotional wellbeing through creative expression. This can also provide opportunities for social engagement.
  • cooking activities. This can help to stimulate the senses, improve self-esteem, and build and maintain motor skills.
  • activities to stay physically active like walking groups, exercise classes, dancing or gardening. This helps to maintain and improve physical health, such as mobility and dexterity.
  • outings and excursions. For example, going on day trips in the community or bus tours. This helps to maintain connections inside and outside the residential community.
• take part in activities that would be a normal part of an older person’s life at home. For example, helping with meal service, setting tables, doing laundry or arranging flowers.
• contribute to the community in ways they want to. This can be by organising activities related to their diverse cultural backgrounds. For example, taking part in cultural events and activities, pride celebrations and disability advocacy group events. This helps to support emotional, spiritual and psychological wellbeing.

Your strategies also need to consider ways you can support the older person’s:

• physical and psychological safety (Outcomes 4.1b and 5.4). Involve older people in making decisions about strategies to protect their physical and psychological safety. Make sure these strategies are culturally safe, trauma aware and healing informed and documented in their care and services plan (Outcomes 1.1, 3.1 and 3.2). This includes respecting each older person’s diverse backgrounds and life experiences such as past trauma. Strategies also need to meet each person’s needs, goals and preferences (Outcome 1.1). The guidance for Outcome 3.2 has more information on delivering culturally safe, trauma aware and healing informed care.  
• comfort, physical and psychological wellbeing. For example, consider ways to make sure you support the older person to overcome any anxiety about their mobility or continence issues. This helps them do the things they want to do, particularly activities that are outside the residential community.
• right to make choices about the activities of daily living and lifestyle activities they want to do. For example, you shouldn’t force older people to go for a walk or take part in group activities if they don’t want to.
• right to make decisions about their personal possessions. For example, you should respect an older person’s choice to keep personal items that are meaningful to them and to make choices about who can handle their items, when and how.
• right to stay connected with people and pets who are significant to them. For example, consider ways to arrange safe visitation by family members, friends, volunteers and pets.
• rights and autonomy of older people (Outcomes 1.1 and 1.2). This includes their right to intimacy, sexual and gender expression. For example, make sure you support older people to spend time with whoever they want with their mutual consent.
• privacy. Make sure everyone involved in an older person’s care respects their personal privacy (Outcome 1.2). Make sure you support older people to entertain visitors privately when they want to. Make sure you understand who can enter the older person’s room and when, without them feeling unsafe.
• right to dignity of risk (Outcome 1.3). Make sure you provide the older person with the information they need to make these decisions. For example, talk with them about the benefits, risks and consequences involved so they can make informed decisions about the activities they do.

Put in place processes to identify, monitor and record older people’s physical, cognitive and mental functions in relation to activities of daily living. You need to do this with older people, and with their informed consent where relevant. This can help you to identify deterioration or changes to an older person’s:

• ability to perform activities of daily living
• mental health
• cognitive or physical function
• capacity or condition (Outcome 3.2).

Consider whether you need referrals or specialist advice from registered health practitioners and health professionals when supporting older people with their activities of daily living (Outcomes 3.2 and 5.4).

Make sure workers have the time, support, resources and skills to encourage and support older people to take part in community experiences.

Consider ways to make sure workers have the skills to encourage and support older people to take part in community experiences and do the things they want to do. For example, provide workers with guidance and training (Outcome 2.9). This needs to be in line with:

• your organisation’s policies and procedures
• contemporary, evidence-based practice
• workers’ roles and responsibilities.

Make sure workers understand how to support and encourage older people to:

• do the things they want to do in line with their needs, goals and preferences
• take part in activities that are meaningful to them
• perform activities of daily living
• make choices with their daily living that support their independence and quality of life.

The guidance for Outcomes 2.8 and 2.9 has more information on workforce planning and worker training.  

Monitor how you support older people to take part in community experiences.

To check if you are supporting older people to take part in community experiences and perform activities of daily living, you can review:

• older people’s aged care service documents, such as care and services plans and progress notes (Outcome 3.1)
• complaints and feedback (Outcome 2.6)
• incident information (Outcome 2.5).

Look for situations where:

• older people haven’t received adequate services and support for daily living
• older people haven’t been able to take part in activities that meet their needs, goals and preferences (Outcome 1.1)
• community activities and the residential care home (Outcome 4.1b) were culturally, spiritually, psychologically and physically unsafe. For example, if an older person is encouraged to take part in a cultural activity that they find offensive or upsetting based on their past experiences, trauma or personal beliefs.
• older people have reported feeling bored or lonely
• older people’s supporters, family and friends have felt uncomfortable visiting the residential care home
• older people haven’t been able to have a level of privacy in their rooms that make them feel safe.

Also, talk with older people, their supporters and others they may wish to involve, such as families and carers, about the aged care services they receive (Outcome 2.1). For example, ask them if they’re supported to take part in activities that are meaningful to them and perform activities of daily living in line with their needs, goals and preferences. Ask older people with specific needs and diverse backgrounds if their daily living needs have been considered and met. These conversations can then inform continuous improvement actions and planning (Outcome 2.1).

Assess if workers are following your quality system when delivering services and support for daily living (Outcome 2.9). You can do this through quality assurance and system reviews.

If you find any issues or ways you can improve through your reviews and assessments, you need to address them. If things go wrong, you need to:  

• practise open disclosure (Outcome 2.3). This means being open about what has gone wrong. Share what went wrong with older people, their supporters and others they may wish to involve, such as family and carers.  
• put in place strategies to mitigate the risk of things going wrong again.  

The guidance for Outcome 2.3 has more information on monitoring the quality system.