Co-designing integrated residential aged care: development and evaluation of a new working method for healthcare and social services

Research problem and specific questionsIntegrated healthcare and social services hold promise to improve older persons’ health and well-being, but there is a lack of working methods for integrated residential aged care.

Our previous work has identified ambiguities regarding professional responsibilities, and difficulties for older persons to get their needs met.

Therefore, this project, developed in collaboration with persons living and working in residential aged care facilities, aims to co-design and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a new working method for integrated residential aged care.

We will address three research questions:How can a working method be co-designed to effectively integrate healthcare and social services in residential aged care?How feasible is the co-designed working method and the evaluation design?How acceptable is the co-designed working method according to persons living in residential aged care facilities, their relatives, and healthcare and social service professionals?Data and methodData will be generated through four studies with persons living in residential aged care facilities, their relatives, healthcare and social service professionals, and managers responsible for residential aged care.

Drawing on our previous findings, focus groups and workshops will be used to co-design a new working method (study 1), that will then be evaluated through a mixed-methods feasibility trial (study 2), combined with photo-elicitation interviews (study 3) and focus groups (study 4) to evaluate acceptability.Societal relevance and utilisationDesigned to enhance resource utilisation and meaningful improvements in residential aged care, the project answers to experienced needs of the target groups.

The co-creative approach seeks to bridge the gap between research and practice, with the aim to generate both scientific and societal value by fostering innovation and best practices to address the complex needs of an ageing population.Plan for project realisationThe project is designed as a three-year project, conducted by a project group with great expertise in municipal healthcare and social service research with older persons.

Collaboration with participants and a reference group with societal representatives will also be a core feature of the project.

Each study has been anchored with decision makers with responsibility for residential aged care and the project group is very well-equipped to reach out to the target groups.