586 posters, 8 topics, 23 sessions, 1,077 authors, 622 institutions

ISQua's 40th International Conference 2024

24th - 27th September 2024 | Istanbul, Türkiye

ISQUA2024-ABS-2270

Changing ‘the way we do things around here’: Improving organisational culture for staff and residents in residential aged care

View Poster Contact Presenter

Poster Presenter

Maree SABA

Authors

Maree SABA, Kate CHURRUCA, Louise ELLIS, Jeffrey BRAITHWAITE

Affiliations

Macquarie University

Part of Topic

Workforce, Policy, and Governance

Changing ‘the way we do things around here’: Improving organisational culture for staff and residents in residential aged care

Introduction

Australia’s aged care sector faces challenges: an ageing population, residents with complex multi-morbidity, workforce retention, concerns about quality and safety, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In healthcare, positive organisational culture (effective leadership, good teamwork) are linked to less staff burnout, increased quality of care.

Aims

1.To deeply understand the association between organisational culture and workforce, safety and quality outcomes in Australian residential aged care via extensive, triangulated research studies.

2.To examine how organisational culture can be improved for the benefit of staff and residents.

Method

-An integrative review of studies on organisational culture in residential aged care.

-A document analysis of the final report of Australia’s Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

-A mixed method study in Australian aged care homes focused on understanding the association between organisational culture, context, and quality and safety outcomes, and how we can improve culture.

Results

- 92 studies on organisational culture in residential aged care

- 155 references to “organisational culture” in Australia’s Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality

- 62 aged care homes

Conclusion

Despite recognising the importance of organisational culture in aged care among policymakers and academics, the numerous gaps in understanding and improving culture persist. Few studies examine culture change in aged care and most do not examine implementation issues. Although policy documents highlight a need for organisational culture change, there is limited guidance on how this would be achieved. Our extensive, longitudinal research aims to address these limitations.

Key References

Braithwaite, J., et al., Association between organisational and workplace cultures, and patient outcomes: systematic review. BMJ Open, 2017. 7(11).

Li, Y., et al., Perceived patient safety culture in nursing homes associated with "Nursing Home Compare" performance indicators. Medical Care, 2019. 57(8): p. 641-647.

Churruca, K., et al., An integrative review of research evaluating organisational culture in residential aged care facilities. BMC Health Services Research, 2023. 23(1): p. 857.

Churruca, K., et al., Cultures of aged care delivery: Qualitative content analysis of Australia's Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 2023.