ELDAC Home Care App – How Co-Design Process and a User-centred Approach can Shape Resources for the Home Care Workforce

Wednesday 12 October 2022

2:00pm – 2:30pm

Speaker Bio

Amanda is a digital health researcher and a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with the End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) Project at Flinders University. Amanda’s work within the ELDAC Project have focussed on the development of end-of-life online resources for the aged care sector including the Home Care App and Allied Health Toolkit. Her research interests include usability evaluation, user experience and design of universal health interfaces to increase participation and improve health outcomes for those who are socially and digitally excluded within our communities.

Abstract 

According to the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, by 2023 there will be over 275,600 Australians receiving a home care package support care to allow them to live and die in their home. Care workers have an important role to play in looking after both the person who is dying, and their carer and families. Their roles are key to recognising changes to ensure end of life and palliative care needs are met and quality care can be provided until death.

However, only a third of care workers are providing support through home care packages have completed formal palliative care training. Consequently, there is a need to provide additional support to these essential workers to help them to provide end of life care. The ELDAC Home Care App seeks to fill this gap by offering home care workers a readily accessible resource offering practical evidence-based guidance and information to support their end-of-life care provision.

A comprehensive co-design process applying user-centred design principles was undertaken involving representatives from home care service providers including care worker managers and care workers. Representatives assisted in ELDAC Project team in an advisory role to identify gaps in knowledge and practical tips that would be of relevance and use to care workers. Co-design interviews involving care workers and managers to develop a content around the ELDAC care model as a framework supporting end of life care within the scope of practice. Card sorting activity was used to map the relationships between concepts to build the underlying information structure within the app. Navigation, functionality, usefulness and satisfaction of the app prototype was assessed using usability testing and user testing within a care worker cohort. Evaluating the prototype allowed final modifications to be made to the Home Care app prior to release.