Achieving dignified care for older people through practice development: A systematic approach

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a one-year practice development project undertaken in a rehabilitation ward for older people with the intention of developing the quality of rehabilitation practice and of exploring the potential for nurses to work as case managers. The baseline data showed that the culture of the ward reflected a custodial approach to patient care, a lack of effective clinical leadership and poor understanding of the rehabilitation needs of older people. It was concluded that changes to practice were needed before a case management approach to care could be considered. A systematic practice development approach was adopted, incorporating pre- and post-development evaluation methods. A comparison ward was used to compare the impact on clinical practice of the change strategies used. The ensuing development strategy focused on facilitating nurses and other members of the multidisciplinary team to question their own attitudes, beliefs and values and to begin to challenge clinical practice. Ongoing work was aimed at implementing cultural and structural changes agreed by the multidisciplinary team, supported by research evidence, in order to establish new norms of clinical practice and leadership. As a result of the project, the ward team was in a much better position to develop a case management approach to patient care, and to implement the development needs identified within the post-evaluation data.