The Implementation of a Model of Person Centred Practice in Older Person Settings

Aim of the programme
To implement a framework of person-centred nursing for older people across multiple settings in Ireland, through a collaborative facilitation model and an evaluation of the processes and outcomes.
Objectives

• Co-ordinate a programme of work that can replicate effective Practice Development processes in care of older people’s settings.
• Enable participants/local facilitators and their Directors and managers to recognise the attributes of person-centred cultures for older people, and key practice development and management interventions needed to achieve the culture (thus embedding person-centred care within organisations).
• Develop person-centred cultures in participating practice settings.
• Systematically measure or evaluate outcomes on practice and for older people.
• Further test a model of person-centred practice in long-term care/rehabilitation settings and develop it as a multidisciplinary model.
• Utilise a participant generated data-set to inform the development and outcomes of person-centred practice.
• Enable local NMPDU facilitators to work with shared principles, models, methods and processes in practice development work across older people’s services.
  

Background to the Programme

In the period 2004 to 2006 a research group led by nurse researchers from the University of Ulster (Professor Brendan Mc Cormack and Dr Jan Dewing) and Mary Manning, Practice Development Co-ordinator (Older Person Services) from Nursing Midwifery Planning and Development Unit (HSE Midlands) conducted a collaborative practice development project exploring the processes involved in establishing person-centred care, outcome measurement and evaluation processes in care of the older person. The project was based in two older person settings in the Republic of Ireland (Birr, County Offaly, and Mullingar, County Westmeath). Findings from this work were positive and recommendations informed the research design of this national Practice Development Programme.