Diverse Populations End of Life Needs Assessment - Diverse Populations - Residential Aged Care
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Diverse Populations End of Life Needs Assessment

The ELDAC Diverse Populations End of Life Needs Assessment (the Assessment) is an organisational support tool that enables aged care providers to review, reflect, and improve on their capacity in supporting the specific end of life care needs of people from diverse backgrounds.

This resource is focused on quality improvement and designed to be implemented through a working group meeting that is led by a facilitator who is a senior staff member. The Assessment:

  • provides information, guidance, and resources to support palliative care and advance care planning for people from diverse population groups;
  • includes case studies for specific diverse groups and resources on providing care;
  • supports aged care providers’ discussions about current systems and services in relation to the evidence domains of the Aged Care Quality Standards; and
  • guides quality improvement activities, focusing on best practice and identifying what system changes are required to improve end of life care for people from diverse backgrounds.

Diverse Populations End of Life Needs Assessment Package

There is an Assessment Package for each of the specific diverse groups listed below that includes end of life care resources for that group. The Assessment also can be used to consider the end of life needs of people from other diverse population groups not listed.

  • Care leavers
  • People affected by forced adoption
  • Veterans
  • People who have experienced homelessness.

Each Assessment Package includes 3 PDF documents:

  1. Facilitator’s Guide, which is an overarching guide for all diverse population groups that explains how to conduct and implement the Assessment.
  • Contains a blank Diverse Populations End of Life Needs Assessment, which includes prompts to document the review of current activities that support diversity, gaps identified, discussion, and findings.
  1. Workbook for staff participating in the Assessment exercise that is specific to the diversity group.
  • The Workbook includes a summary about the specific diverse group and a blank Assessment with prompts.
  • There is case study of a completed Assessment for the specific group to guide the assessment process.
  1. Set of facilitator presentation slides for the specific diverse group to assist in guiding the meeting.

Care Leavers Assessment Pack

Care Leavers are a group of people with specific needs due to childhood trauma and continued disadvantage, resulting from the impact of the practice of removal from family and community on their lives. Some people may not self-identify as ‘care leavers’ and instead identify as Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Stolen Generations.

Aged care staff should consider the past experiences of care leavers and the way this affects how they feel about aged care, and therefore respond appropriately to their specific end of life care needs.

Care Leavers Assessment Pack

'Forced adoption' or 'forced family separation' are the terms used to describe the experiences of approximately 1 in 15 Australians who have been affected by historical adoption practices. These practices involved many pregnant, unwed women and their partners who were subjected to unauthorised separation from their children.

Aged care staff should consider and provide appropriate end of life care based on the past experiences of people affected by forced adoption and the impact it has on how they feel about aged care.

Care Leavers Assessment Pack

Veterans have unique experiences arising from their service, which can physically and psychologically impact the veteran and his or her family, as well as influence how they interact with aged care, palliative care, and other services. Veterans experience high rates of chronic illnesses and poor mental health often related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Also navigating two systems of Commonwealth funded support programs offered presents unique challenges for veterans.

It is important for aged care staff to be trauma aware and have the education and training to understand and respond to the specific end of life care needs of veterans.

Care Leavers Assessment Pack

Homelessness amongst older adults is on the rise with 19,378 people aged 55 years and over experiencing homelessness in 2021, representing one in seven (15.8%) people experiencing homelessness at the time of the Census. A combination of individual, social, and structural factors can increase a person’s risk of experiencing homelessness. Older Australians who have experienced homelessness tend to have difficulty in accessing services and they may also be reluctant to engage with aged care services for a variety of reasons.

Aged care providers need a flexible, compassionate, and coordinated response in providing end of life care to people who have experienced homelessness.

Access the Assessment Packages

Please fill in the form below to register to access and download the suite of resources for the Diverse Population End of Life Needs Assessment.

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Page updated 07 November 2023