Increasingly, people wish to stay at home rather than enter residential aged care. The Lifestyle Engagement Activity Program (LEAP) for Life trains care staff to better engage community aged care clients and provide emotional and social support.
This resource is for case managers and care workers.
As older people spend more time at home, they are becoming socially isolated and have unmet needs for activities. Through the LEAP program, case managers will learn how to assess and prescribe meaningful social or recreational activities, based on clients’ ability and interests. Care workers will learn how to practise good communication; promote client independence, status, reciprocity and choice; and tailor meaningful activities using Montessori principles, reminiscence, music, physical activity and play.
It is hoped that the program will change practices and improve client engagement, mood and well-being.
LEAP is currently being evaluated at five community care sites
Authors: A/Prof Lee-Fay Low, Prof Yun-Hee Jeon, Dr Jess Baker, Dr Jenny Fletcher, Ms Fleur Harrison
Background:
Previous research has shown that social, leisure and productive activities are associated with well-being in older people. Interventions that increased social activities improved depression, social isolation, and quality of life. However, most of these interventions have been trialled in residential care.
LEAP has been trialled across five community care sites in metro and suburban areas of Sydney NSW, involving roughly 145 care workers, 20 case managers and 165 clients. The study will evaluate the effect of LEAP on engagement, mood, and behaviour of home care clients, and on case managers and care workers.
