Developing the Occupational Communion Scale: Belonging-Based Social Connections Are Vital for Work Engagement, Self-Efficacy, and Positive Affect in Aged Care Workforces.

Background And Objectives: A multifaceted construct called occupational communion (OC), defined as a sense of belonging based on social interaction at work, has been proposed to understand why care workers were positively engaged in their jobs over time, even though they were very demanding. Rich qualitative data on the multiple aspects of OC in care work exist, but a valid measure does not.

Research Design And Methods: We applied a mixed-method systematic scale development process to measure OC.

The precarious resilience of aged care employees enrolled in an Australian online dementia course: A cross-sectional study of occupational health and well-being.

Objective: Australian aged care workforce surveys offer limited information about those who engage in online dementia education regarding their occupational health and well-being. A salutogenic approach was applied to an aged care context to quantitatively assess both positive and negative aspects of health at work to inform the development of workplace interventions tailored to those interested in self-development.

Methods: Physical, psychological and occupational health were measured in an online cross-sectional survey of general health, chronic conditions, psychological distress, positive and negative affect, job satisfaction, access to workplace amenities and turnover intentions of aged care workers undertaking an online dementia course in October 2014.

A new model of care and in-house general practitioners for residential aged care facilities: a stepped wedge, cluster randomised trial.

Objectives: To evaluate whether an alternative model of care in aged care facilities, including in-house general practitioners, influenced health outcomes for residents.

Design: Stepped wedge, cluster randomised controlled trial over 90 weeks (31 December 2012 - 21 September 2014), with a 54-week pre-trial retrospective data period (start: 19 December 2011) and a 54-week post-trial prospective data collection period (to 4 October 2015).

Participants, Setting: Fifteen residential aged care facilities operated by Bupa Aged Care in metropolitan and regional cities in four Australian states.

Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone reduces cross-reactions between antibodies and phenolic compounds in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of ochratoxin A.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a fungal metabolite and putative carcinogen which can contaminate a variety of foods such as cereals, wine, and nuts. Commercial ELISA kits are known to give false-positive results for OTA concentrations when phenolic compounds are present. Pistachios represent a food matrix rich in phenolic compounds potentially contaminated with OTA, and were used to model OTA cross-reactivity.

Using action research to build mentor capacity to improve orientation and quality of nursing students' aged care placements: what to do when the phone rings.

Aims And Objectives: To describe whether an action research approach can be used to build capacity of residential aged care facility staff to support undergraduate nursing students' clinical placements in residential aged care facilities, using development of an orientation programme as an exemplar.

Background: Aged care facilities are unpopular sites for nursing students' clinical placements. A contributing factor is the limited capacity of staff to provide students with a positive placement experience.

Development and preliminary psychometric properties of the General Practitioner Attitudes and Confidence Scale (GPACS-D) for dementia.

Background: International evidence suggests that dementia is under-diagnosed in the community and that General Practitioners (GPs) are often reluctant to engage to their fullest capability with patients who exhibit cognitive symptoms. This is potentially reflected by a lack of GP knowledge about the syndrome. However, it is also recognised that attitudes and confidence are important in relation to how and to what extent a GP approaches a person with dementia.

A New Standard in Dementia Knowledge Measurement: Comparative Validation of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale and the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale.

Objectives: To compare the psychometric performance of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) and the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) when administered to a large international cohort before and after online dementia education.

Design: Comparative psychometric analysis with pre- and posteducation scale responses.

Setting: The setting for this research encompassed 7,909 individuals from 124 countries who completed the 9-week Understanding Dementia Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).

Adequate Hand Washing and Glove Use Are Necessary To Reduce Cross-Contamination from Hands with High Bacterial Loads.

Hand washing and glove use are the main methods for reducing bacterial cross-contamination from hands to ready-to-eat food in a food service setting. However, bacterial transfer from hands to gloves is poorly understood, as is the effect of different durations of soap rubbing on bacterial reduction. To assess bacterial transfer from hands to gloves and to compare bacterial transfer rates to food after different soap washing times and glove use, participants' hands were artificially contaminated with Enterobacter aerogenes B199A at ∼9 log CFU.

Ibuprofen regulates the expression and function of membrane-associated serine proteases prostasin and matriptase.

Background: The glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored extracellular membrane serine protease prostasin is expressed in normal bladder urothelial cells. Bladder inflammation reduces prostasin expression and a loss of prostasin expression is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human bladder transitional cell carcinomas. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) decrease the incidence of various cancers including bladder cancer, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the anticancer effect of NSAIDs are not fully understood.

Can a community of practice enhance a palliative approach for people drawing close to death with dementia?

This action research study was conducted to trial a strategy intended to support a consistent, high-quality, palliative approach for people with dementia drawing close to death-the implementation of a community of practice. Professionals from community/residential care and hospitals formed this community of practice, which took on the role of an action research group. The group was supported to identify and address practice problems.

Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale: Development and Preliminary Psychometric Properties.

Objectives: To develop a reliable and valid dementia knowledge scale to address limitations of existing measures, support knowledge evaluation in diverse populations, and inform educational intervention development.

Design: A five-stage, systematic scale development process was employed to construct and assess the psychometric properties of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS).

Setting: Data for the study were generated in an online environment and during clinical dementia care placements from Australian (n = 1,321) and international respondents (n = 446).

We are not all coping: a cross-sectional investigation of resilience in the dementia care workforce.

Background: Research on workforce development for high-quality dementia care more often focuses on enhancing employee knowledge and skill and less on managing employee stress and coping at work.

Objective: To review employee stress and coping in response to high job demands in community-based dementia care organizations in Tasmania, Australia.

Methods: Stress and coping in response to job roles of 25 community-based dementia care workers were reviewed using self-report questionnaire data.

An investigation of nursing students' knowledge of dementia: A questionnaire study.

Background: Globally, rising rates of dementia indicate the need for more nurses skilled in caring for people with this condition. However nursing students may not acquire the requisite knowledge from existing undergraduate curricula.

Objectives: To investigate the dementia knowledge of second-year nursing students before and after a supported placement in a residential aged care facility.

Residents with mild cognitive decline and family members report health students 'enhance capacity of care' and bring 'a new breath of life' in two aged care facilities in Tasmania.

Background: Care provided by student doctors and nurses is well received by patients in hospital and primary care settings. Whether the same is true for aged care residents of nursing homes with mild cognitive decline and their family members is unknown.

Objective: To investigate the perspectives of aged care residents with mild cognitive decline and their family members on interdisciplinary student placements in two residential aged care facilities (RACF) in Tasmania.

Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool Version Two: development of a tool to inform preparation for care planning and delivery in families and care staff.

Care for the person with dementia requires understanding of the person's perspective and preferences, integrated with knowledge of dementia's trajectory and appropriate care. Version One of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool addressed such knowledge in care workers; Version Two is for families as well as staff. Content validity was established during development.

Perspectives of the community-based dementia care workforce: "occupational communion" a key finding from the Work 4 Dementia Project.

Background: Community care workers' experience of delivering support to people with dementia is less researched than that of residential workers. The purpose of the study is to explore community-based dementia care workers' perspectives about their roles and the contextual variables that impact upon their work experiences.

Method: A qualitative design was employed.

Entering a world of uncertainty: community nurses' engagement with information and communication technology.

Achieving adoption, use, and integration of information and communication technology by healthcare clinicians in the workplace is recognized as a challenge that requires a multifaceted approach. This article explores community health nurses' engagement with information and communication technology as part of a larger research project that investigated the delivery of self-management support to people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Following a survey of computer skills, participants were provided with computer training to support use of the project information system.

Developing and testing a strategy to enhance a palliative approach and care continuity for people who have dementia: study overview and protocol.

Background: Typically, dementia involves progressive cognitive and functional deterioration, leading to death. A palliative approach recognizes the inevitable health decline, focusing on quality of life. The approach is holistic, proactive, supports the client and the family, and can be provided by the client's usual care team.

The state of physical environments in Australian residential aged care facilities.

Objective: This paper examines the quality and safety of the physical environment in Australian residential aged care facilities (RACFs).

Design: Cross-sectional study. One assessor completed environmental audits to identify areas of the physical environment that needed to be addressed to improve the wellbeing and safety of residents.

Multiple views reveal the complexity of dementia diagnosis.

Objective: To reveal views about dementia diagnosis derived from a larger study of information needs of carers of people with dementia in Tasmania, Australia.

Methods: Over 100 participants, including family carers, health professionals and dementia service personnel, met as discrete focus groups. Data pertinent to dementia diagnosis were segregated and subjected to across-group comparative analysis.

General practitioners' experiences and understandings of diagnosing dementia: factors impacting on early diagnosis.

This article reports findings from three linked qualitative research projects that explored how Australian general practitioners (GPs) spoke about their experiences in diagnosing dementia and their views on early diagnosis and barriers towards early diagnosis. The authors conducted this research with the aim of elucidating the GP perspective and using this to better understand the process of diagnosing dementia and delays in diagnosing dementia. Twenty-four GPs based in Australia participated in the study (eleven females and thirteen males).

Living on the edge: issues that undermine the capacity of residential aged care providers to support student nurses on clinical placement.

This paper reports in part on the Building Connections in Aged Care Project about developing quality clinical placements for undergraduate nursing students in residential aged care in Tasmania, Australia. Informed by an action research approach, and using multi-methods data collection, the three-stage project explored issues impacting on students' experiences of placement, implemented strategies to address identified issues, and tested the sustainability of achievements gained. This research highlights the vulnerability of residential aged care facilities to changing conditions and shows how problematic circumstances related to staffing and workloads can readily undermine their capacity to provide supportive teaching and learning environments for students.