Co-designing a novel service to support health and wellbeing of older carers of older people.

• Carers Victoria’s Role: Steering Group member, co-design process development, and panel participant
• Lead Research Organisation: Rehabilitation Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, Monash University
• Purpose: Develop a model for a future, user-informed service to improve health and well-being outcomes for older carers of older people. The project had two phases to achieve its objective. The first phase identified and evaluated the type and adequacy of existing information and support sources used by older carers of older people in Australia and Brazil to manage their physical and mental health, well-being, and caring needs. The second phase explored the nature of the referral, information, advice, and support provided to carers about their physical and mental health when their care recipients attend specialist geriatric outpatient clinics (Australia) or the carer attends the Sao Paulo Carers Clinic.
• Further Information: TBC

• Carers Victoria Role: Stakeholders steering committee member
• Lead Research Organisation: Monash University
• Purpose: Guide the development of the RACReN governance framework and help shape research priorities for residential aged care on the Mornington Peninsula.

• Carers Victoria’s Role: Reference group member
• Lead Research Organisation: Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne
• Purpose: Investigate issues in infection prevention and control practice in RACFs as sites of high-risk infection transmission by involving residents, carers and family, providers, and staff.

• Carers Victoria’s Role: Reference Group member
• Lead Research Organisation: National Ageing Research Institute (NARI)
• Purpose: As part of the ‘Creative Caring’ study, NARI worked with carers to co-design a video called: ‘Finding My Way: Sharing tips on supporting people living with dementia’ that portrays what carers themselves view as important and helpful in caring for someone with dementia. It shows the diversity of the caring experience, including challenging, positive, and rewarding aspects of caring.
• Further Information: The video can be watched here.

• Carers Victoria’s Role: Advisory group member and promotion
• Lead Research Organisation: Monash University
• Purpose: Improve the supports for family and friends (carers) of older adults living in the community during discharge and transition from hospital to home. Improve carers’ experience of discharge care for the older adults that they support.
• Further information: The researchers have published an article in a peer-reviewed journal called Informal carers' support needs, facilitators and barriers in the transitional care of older adults: A qualitative study; a summary is available here.

In 2022, the National Centre for Healthy Ageing provided additional funding to develop multimedia resources for carers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

• Carers Victoria’s Role: Key Stakeholder advisory group member and promotion
• Lead Organisation: Family Planning NSW
• Purpose: Co-design accessible digital resources to support families, carers, children, and adolescents with an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorders through puberty.

Launched in 2021, the website provides the latest information and strategies about puberty alongside videos and podcasts with carers from diverse backgrounds and experiences. There are also games to support children’s learning.

Further Information: The website can be found by clicking on the link: Planet Puberty

Frequency: One-off

Release Date: April 2022

Organisation: Carers Victoria

Involvement: Commissioner

Who: Victorian Carers

Frequency: Biennial

Release Date: National Carers Week (10 October 2022)

Organisations: state and territory carer associations

Involvement: Working group member – participation in survey design. Promotion to Victorian carers.

Who: Australian carers with raw data available at the state and territory level.

Frequency: Annual

Release Date: October 2022

Organisations: Carers Australia, Department of Social Services

Involvement: None

Who: Australian Carers