By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
NepaliPage | Nepalese Community Affairs in AustraliaNepaliPage | Nepalese Community Affairs in Australia
  • Home
  • Who is Who
  • News
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Students
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Nepali NAATI CCL
Font ResizerAa
NepaliPage | Nepalese Community Affairs in AustraliaNepaliPage | Nepalese Community Affairs in Australia
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Who is Who
  • News
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Students
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Nepali NAATI CCL
LifestyleSocial

What do aged care residents do all day? We tracked their time use to find out

Madan Mani
Last updated: May 10, 2023 6:39 pm
Madan Mani
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE
Transitioning from life at home to life as aged care residents can be challenging, often linked with loss of independence, loss of identity, and loss of control.

 

What do aged care residents do all day? We tracked their time use to find out - NepaliPage
Photo by cottonbro/Pexels, CC BY

Joyce Siette, Western Sydney University and Laura Dodds, Macquarie University

Contents
Humans are a social speciesWhat we foundCreating opportunities for socially active livesDoing residential aged care differently

What’s the daily routine like for older people in residential aged care facilities?

To find out, we spent 312 hours observing 39 residents at six Australian aged care facilities to learn how and where they spend their time across the day. We wanted to know how socially engaged residents actually were and how this could affect their wellbeing.

Our study, published in the journal PLOS One, highlights some long-standing issues in aged care but also provides promise.

Residents were largely active, both in terms of communicating with other people in the centre and in terms of doing activities. But there’s more we can do to create opportunities for socialising.

[ads2]

Humans are a social species

Transitioning from life at home to life in aged care can be challenging, often linked with loss of independence, loss of identity, and loss of control.

Many also associate moving into aged care with a decline in their social lives and overall physical health.

So it’s no surprise people living in aged care homes suffer from generally low levels of wellbeing.

Previous research has found residents hardly attend activities in their facility. The conversations they do have are often with care staff – these are very rare, short, and mainly about their physical care.

However, previous studies often fail to capture critical aspects of how and where socialisation occurs in aged care.

We know humans are a social creatures and that we’re wired to connect, with more social connections boosting our overall wellbeing.

That’s why we decided to take a closer look at how aged care residents spend their time.

Read Also: Nepalese Community concerns over bogus AgedCare Certificates

An older woman looks at a friend's phone in an aged care.
Having good evidence on how people spend their time in aged care centres helps identify gaps so we can address them.
Photo by Georg Arthur Pflueger on Unsplash, CC BY

What we found

During the 312 hours we spent observing 39 residents, we found a day in the life of a resident looks something like this:

  • waking up in the morning and getting ready for the day (with the help of personal care staff if necessary)
  • attending the dining room for breakfast and spending most of the morning in the common area or lounge room – perhaps participating in an activity run by the lifestyle staff at the facility – before returning to the dining room for lunch
  • after that, depending on whether there is an activity being organised, most will go back to their own rooms to recuperate before coming back to the dining room for dinner in the early evening.

We found social interactions peak at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Across the day, residents

  • spent the greatest proportion of time (45%) in their own room
  • were alone 47.9% of the time
  • were inactive 25.6% of the time
  • were most likely to chat with other residents, followed by staff, then family
  • outside of meal times, residents had conversations in the common area or in their own rooms.

Overall, residents spent more than half their time being socially and physically active.

Over a third of their time was spent with another resident. Spending time with other residents was most likely to be associated with a higher quality of life.

We also found spending time with staff or too much time alone was linked to poorer quality of life.

Read Also: Future of AgedCare Jobs in Australia

Older people play a board game in an aged care.
Spending time with other aged care residents tends to be associated with a higher quality of life.
Photo by Singapore Stock Photos on Unsplash, CC BY

Creating opportunities for socially active lives

Based on our research, here are three things aged care providers and governments can do to improve older Australians’ wellbeing:

1. Improve staffing

Staff shortages and time pressures are key reasons why residents spend little time with staff.

Including more activities chosen and assisted by residents in aged care facilities could help create new social opportunities between residents and strengthen existing ones.

2. Tailor Montessori programs to the aged care environment

Montessori programs create a collaborative approach filled with self-directed activities with hands-on learning and play. Activities include things like sorting and recognising objects, completing puzzles, and practising opening locks.

Montessori programs in small groups or led by family members would suit the smaller staff to resident ratios in many aged care centres. They would also help residents (including those with dementia) regain some independence, feel less bored or isolated and have a sense of purpose.

3. Change the physical environment and offer more afternoon activities

Changing the physical environment to accommodate for more social spaces would go a long way to help.

Increasing the number of activities in the afternoon would mean residents have more opportunities to socialise with each other, especially those who are busy with personal care routines in the mornings.

Doing residential aged care differently

After media reports and a royal commission highlighted the failings of Australia’s aged care system, it’s time to think differently about aged care.

Our study reveals residents can and do socialise, and that it can significantly improve people’s quality of life.

We must now find ways to change aged care environments and practices to create more social opportunities.The Conversation

Joyce Siette, Research Fellow, Western Sydney University and Laura Dodds, Research assistant, Macquarie University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

TAGGED:aged careaged care Australiaaged care skills listFeaturedlife in aged care
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
By Madan Mani
Madan Mani, lives in Sydney, Software Engineer, Digital Marketeer, graduated from Federation University, has solid Journalism and Media background, worked for years in Nepalese National Dailies, Radios, Online & TVs.
Previous Article Australia has a new head of state: what will Charles be like as king? - NepaliPage Australia has a new head of state: what will Charles be like as king?
Next Article 10 Things to do in Nepal during your vacation - NepaliPage 10 Things to do in Nepal during your vacation
Leave a comment

Migration News

2025 NSW Skilled Migration Seminars - NepaliPage
Want Australian PR? Join These NSW Migration Seminars
Migration
Temporary Graduate 485 visa - NepaliPage
Australia Closes Student Visa Pathway for Temporary Graduate Visa Holders
Migration
Migration boost is bad news for Australia’s environment – we mustn’t ignore that - NepaliPage
Australia’s skilled migration policy changed how and where migrants settle
Australia Migration News
How to improve the migration system for the good of temporary migrants – and Australia - NepaliPage
Government to toughen scrutiny of international students as it slashes net migration over two years
Migration News
- Advertisement -

You Might Also Like

seven horses galloping
LifestyleShopping

7 Horses Painting in Vastu: Path to Success and Wealth

February 18, 2025
Importance of Saraswati Puja and how to celebrate it - NepaliPage
Social

Importance of Saraswati Puja and how to celebrate it

February 3, 2025
Nepali Thali Nepali dish rice and vegs for lunch
Lifestyle

Nepalese delights in Sydney: 10 must try restaurants

January 30, 2025
Sydney Arieal View
Lifestyle

Top 10 Places to Visit in Australia in 2025

January 26, 2025

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians & First Peoples of Australia (all states & territories) past, present and emerging, and honour their continued connection to the history, country, and culture.

Follow Us on Socials

Twitter Update

Tweets by NepaliPage

About Us

NepaliPage.com (नेपालीपेज डटकम) is an Australian Nepalese Community Media platform connects large number of Nepalese Australians through common interest news, views and reviews. As an Australian Community Media NepaliPage aggregates News, Australian Nepali Community Affairs from all around Australia in both Nepali and English language. Read More...

Follow Us on Facebook

Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Affiliate Disclosure | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Community Journalism Policy |
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Our site is an advertising supported site. Please whitelist to support our site.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?