Natalie Chrara
Moove & Groove
Times, Tools, Skills: Using Intuitive Technology to Overcome Aged Care’s 3 Most Significant Challenges in Delivering Person Centred Care
Wednesday 12 October 2022
3:00pm – 3:30pm
Speaker Bio
Natalie Chrara is a leader combining technology and learning principles, to create sustainable and impactful outcomes for customers. As Moove & Groove’s Chief Customer Officer, Natalie and her team implement and educate Providers and their employees on the best practices of applying technology to their environments. The focus on practical and achievable micro-learning results in substantial improvements to resident care and increased employee satisfaction. Natalie has a deep passion for improving the lives of those living and working in Residential Aged Care.
Abstract
RACFs in Australia care for large cohorts of seniors with complex and diverse needs, including dementia. While staff recognise the value of personal connection with residents, social engagement, and meaningful activity, they lack the time, tools, and skills to provide this type of support around-the-clock in a truly personalised way.
Our proposed discussion features Dr Kirsten Challinor (PhD), Neuroscientist and lecturer from ACU and Natalie Chrara, Chief Customer Officer Moove & Groove, ‘M&G’. These industry insiders discuss Dr Challinor’s research and M&G case studies, focusing on the impact of providing aged care staff and residents with easy, on-the-spot access to a therapeutic program of video and audio experiences.
Dr Challinor’s research focus:
Aim: Measuring the effectiveness of a wireless headphone technology program delivering audio-visual content to residents in RACF. Outcomes of interest include staff wellbeing, reduction of psychotropic PRNs and reduction in behaviours of concern.
Method: A series of studies over several years have employed mixed methods, including:
- Online survey of aged care staff across 63 services during 2020, before, and during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020.
- Online focus group via Zoom to further discuss staff experience with the audio-visual content.
- Medication chat data (2021) analysis of psychotropic PRN use of 1399 residents before and after the introduction of M&G.
- Results: The online survey (n=34) yielded high scores on the job stratification subscale, with 85% of staff agreeing that the program could improve job satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale.
Similar results were found for program enjoyment (96%), social connection to residents (94%) and ease of use (91%). Thematic analysis of the focus groups (n= 9) revealed that the staff found the program a valuable additional resource that saved time. It allowed for a deep connection of person-centred care. In particular, overcoming cultural or language barriers. It was a timely resource during the pandemic. PRN medication administration rates were unchanged after only three months of M&G, during a time when rates were predicted to increase significantly due to the impact of Covid-19, which indicates a promising future for the program.
Natalie Chrara shares key M&G learnings and best practices in overcoming staff challenges relating to Time, Tools and Skills. The data and case studies shared are reflective of the last 3 years spent working with 100’s of RACFs and 1,000s of staff across Australia and supporting and coaching them in using the therapeutic program to offer consumer-centric experiences to residents. The experiences offered to residents include music therapy, exercise, spiritual and cultural connection, dementia programs, and palliative care.
Dr Kirsten Challinor, Neuroscientist and Natalie Chrara, Chief Customer Officer at Moove&Groove, share research and case studies showing the impact on staff and residents of implementing a technology-based therapeutic program.
