Staff as Change Agents – Sustaining Mental Health in Aged Care

Intervention 1 The training with 6-10 senior care staff involves 5 sessions over 11 weeks. Session 1, 2 and 3 are run one week apart. Session 4 is 4 weeks after session 3 and the booster session is run 4 weeks after session 4. Session 1: Depression and Workplace Environment looks at screening, communication, referral and workplace strengths and challenges (2 hours) Session 2: Challenging Behaviours looks at possible causes, and an Assessment and Management Tool for Staff (2 hours) Session 3: Staff as Change Agents looks at key characteristics and behaviours for facilitating change (2 hours) Session 4: Sustaining Mental Health in Aged Care looks at how to develop a workplace environment framework that supports mental health protocols (2 hours) Booster Session: The content and activity will be driven by each individual facility’s needs, with the aim being to provide additional support and practice for the team leaders and participants driving the new initiatives (1.5 hours) Intervention 2 The training will run exactly the same as in intervention 1. Once training is complete and care staff have completed their post-training questionnaires, a clinical psychologist, provided by the research project, will be situated with each facility for approximately one day per week for a six month period. Their role will be to provide clinical support to care staff to assist them with the roll out of the strategy to better recognise and manage depression and BPSD among care recipients.