As part of our commitment to creating a better home care system for all Australians, Silverchain is implementing a new training program for our employees to improve mental health outcomes for clients.
The new training module is aimed at providing Silverchain’s aged care employees with a better understanding of how depression and anxiety can impact older Australians. Employees will also learn the skills to recognise signs of these mental health conditions and appropriately support clients who receive My Aged Care funding from the Federal Government.
Silverchain’s Director of Research Discovery Adjunct Professor Tanya Davison said the new training module would help ensure Silverchain employees are prepared to support the mental health of older people.
“Currently, mental health screening is not a standard part of the assessment process for most aged care providers. Initiatives such as our new training program, introduction of routine mental health screening tools, and our EMBED treatment program are all designed specifically for the in-home aged care setting. These are viable steps towards meeting the gaps in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of older Australians. We are pleased the Federal Government has included psychology in the new Support at Home program.”
“Through the application of our EMBED model of care, we are improving the ability of employees to identify and facilitate appropriate treatment of vulnerable individuals.
“The first of its kind, EMBED is an innovative model of care that aims to facilitate early detection and use of evidence-based treatment of depression in older Australians who receive home aged care.
“Ultimately, Silverchain’s clients will receive better mental health support when accessing aged care at home, with the goal of improving their wellbeing and supporting them to remain in their homes for as long as possible.”
Adjunct Professor Davison said Silverchain has piloted EMBED in Victoria and was continuing to expand implementation and evaluation of EMBED across its other aged care services.
Silverchain is currently offering Silverchain clients in Western Australia and South Australia the chance to take part in a large clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of this new model of care (see below for further details). The EMBED trial was being conducted in collaboration with researchers at several universities.
Adjunct Professor Davison said the imperative to improve mental health outcomes for older Australians was reinforced by a new Silverchain study that revealed the prevalence of mental health issues for people receiving home care.
The Australian-first study involved 237 in-home aged care clients who provided information on their symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as loneliness, quality of life and social support.
The study, titled The Prevalence and Correlates of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adults Receiving In-Home Aged Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey was published in the Australasian Journal on Ageing this week.
Silverchain’s Senior Research Fellow Dr Marissa Dickins, who was the lead author of the article, said the results highlighted a significant prevalence of mental health conditions among older Australians receiving in-home aged care services, with more than 60 per cent of older adults reporting at least mild symptoms of either depression or anxiety.
“Previous research has found that depression and anxiety in older adults are associated with a range of poor health and wellbeing outcomes, including hospitalisations and early entry to residential aged care,” Dr Dickins said.
The study found that higher levels of depression and anxiety were more common among clients who were younger in age, had lower quality of life, experienced loneliness, lived in metropolitan areas, and lived with family.
“A notable proportion of clients experienced clinically significant conditions. 16 per cent reported symptoms consistent with major depressive disorder and 12 per cent with symptoms indicating generalised anxiety disorder,” Dr Dickins said.
“It’s important to note that many older people experience both symptoms of depression and anxiety – they commonly co-occur. In our study, 29 per cent of clients reported symptoms of both conditions.”
Adjunct Professor Davison said the findings underscored the urgent need for routine mental health assessments within the in-home aged care sector overall.
“Despite the known risks, there has been limited research in Australia specifically focusing on the mental health of those receiving in-home aged care services. We can address this, and Silverchain Foundation has supported us to invest in the EMBED model.
“We will continue to advocate for holistic aged care for older people, including addressing their mental health needs. This newly released study brings much-needed attention to the mental health needs of this population,” Adjunct Professor Davison said.
The EMBED trial to evaluate the depression treatment program has places available for Silverchain clients aged 65 years and over who are existing recipients of Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) or Home Support Program (HSP) in Western Australia and South Australia.
For more information about EMBED please call 1300 364 264 or email embed@silverchain.org.au
