Steps towards equitable care: creating web pages to highlight diversity for Australia’s aged care and end of life care workforce

Abstract

Background The impact of Australia’s diverse population on the aged care sector has been acknowledged, with the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety findings providing evidence of the importance of population diversity for consumer-directed and person-centred care. Similarly, the Aged Care Quality Standards and Aged Care Diversity Framework acknowledge the diversity of Australia’s ageing population and potential implications for equitable access to care and the ensuing importance of culturally appropriate and culturally safe care. This paper reports on the development of informational web pages and utilisation findings for use by the aged care workforce supporting diverse populations. Methods Content was created for the End of Life Directions for Aged Care website, based on rapid review findings relating to barriers and limitations for people accessing equitable care in the aged care and palliative care sectors. Results Website pages containing embedded links to useful content and resources for health professionals and care workers who work with older diverse adults are shown to be well received among users. Conclusions As Australia’s future population will age with increasing diversity markers, with implications for aged care and palliative care service provision, workforce access to up-to-date, relevant and evidence-informed information on best practice non-clinical support for individuals from diverse backgrounds towards the end of life promotes a person-centred care approach. Access data shows that the website content is being utilised increasingly over time and suggests that it is filling a gap in comprehensive and accessible end of life resources that have been missing from the Australian aged care and palliative care workforce.