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.

Dementia knowledge assessment scale (DKAS): confirmatory factor analysis and comparative subscale scores among an international cohort.

Background: Dementia is a life-limiting condition that is increasing in global prevalence in line with population ageing. In this context, it is necessary to accurately measure dementia knowledge across a spectrum of health professional and lay populations with the aim of informing targeted educational interventions and improving literacy, care, and support. Building on prior exploratory analysis, which informed the development of the preliminarily valid and reliable version of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS), a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to affirm construct validity and proposed subscales to further increase the measure's utility for academics and educators.

Aged care nurses' job control influence satisfaction and mental health.

Background: Relationships exist between aged care nurses' perceptions of psychosocial work characteristics, job satisfaction and mental health, suggesting these characteristics may be important for the management of aged care services.

Aim: An expanded demand-control-support model that included justice perceptions was examined to determine its impact on multiple types of psychological and organisational well-being outcomes (i.e.

"Bringing the outside world in": Enriching social connection through health student placements in a teaching aged care facility.

Background: Older adults living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) often experience limited opportunities for social connection despite close proximity to peers, which has implications for mental health and quality of life (QoL). The introduction of large-scale undergraduate health student placements in RACFs may enhance opportunities for meaningful engagement through social connection, although this remains unexplored.

Objective: This research explores whether interpersonal encounters between health students and RACF residents influence residents' opportunities for social connection and QoL.

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).

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.

Leisure Time Activities and Mental Health in Informal Dementia Caregivers.

Objectives: Dementia prevalence and the demand for dementia care are increasing. Informal caregiving accounts for a large proportion of dementia care, but can come at high cost for caregivers. Informal dementia caregivers are at higher risk for mental health problems than the general population.

Caring for the carer: a systematic review of pure technology-based cognitive behavioral therapy (TB-CBT) interventions for dementia carers.

Background: Face-to-face delivery of CBT is not always optimal or practical for informal dementia carers (DCs). Technology-based formats of CBT delivery (TB-CBT) have been developed with the aim to improve client engagement and accessibility, and lower delivery costs, and offers potential benefits for DCs. However, research of TB-CBT for DCs has maintained heavy reliance on therapist involvement.

Profiles of dyadic adjustment for advanced prostate cancer to inform couple-based intervention.

Objective: The purpose of the study is to describe from a relational perspective, partners' psychological adjustment, coping and support needs for advanced prostate cancer.

Design: A mixed methods design was adopted, employing triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data, to produce dyadic profiles of adjustment for six couples recruited from the urology clinics of local hospitals in Tasmania, Australia.

Methods: Dyads completed a video-taped communication task, semi-structured interview and standardised self-report questionnaires.

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.

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.

Building capacity and resilience in the dementia care workforce: a systematic review of interventions targeting worker and organizational outcomes.

Background: Dementia increasingly impacts every health and social care system in the world. Preparing the dementia care workforce is therefore paramount, particularly in light of existing problems of staff retention and turnover. Training interventions will need to increase worker and organizational capacity to deliver effective patient care.