Using Action Research and Action Learning (ARAL) to develop a response to the abuse of older people in a healthcare context

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe Monash Health’s development of a Policy and Procedure on the abuse of older people in metropolitan Australia. Monash Health is a public healthcare network that consists of six public hospitals and over 40 community health care sites throughout the South East of Melbourne. Design/methodology/approach: An Action Research Action Learning approach was employed to develop a comprehensive set of policy and procedure documents to ensure that Monash Health became compliant with the State Government’s expectations around responding to the abuse of older people in a consistent manner. Findings: Almost 90,000 Monash Health hospital admissions per year are older people aged over 65 years. Senior Monash Health management recognized that staff did not have adequate information, education and resources to consistently identify and respond to situations of elder abuse. What is more, the existing internal Monash Health document Supporting Older People at Risk did not meet obligations stated in the Victorian Government’s Elder Abuse Strategy (2009). Originality/value: The project’s emphasis upon participatory action research, cooperative inquiry and action learning further resulted in the identification of an opportunity to develop a strategic response to violence and abuse for all patients of Monash Health, not just older people.