TITLE:
Exploring the Implementation of Individual Care Plans in Relation to Characteristics of Staff
AUTHORS:
Anna Condelius, Ulf Jakobsson, Staffan Karlsson
KEYWORDS:
Aged/Aged 80 and Over, Patient Care Planning, Health Plan Implementation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.6 No.8,
August
24,
2016
ABSTRACT: The aim was to explore the implementation of individual care plans in municipal elderly care in relation to characteristics of staff. Data regarding characteristics of staff were derived through a questionnaire distributed to all staff working in the care for older people, (N = 908, n = 245) in four municipalities in Sweden. The number of care plans established during a one-year period was collected through a contact person in each municipality. In total 47 individual care plans were established during the study year. Significantly more staff in the municipality that had the most number of established individual care plans agreed that there had been sufficient education (p = 0.017), sufficient time (p = 0.002) and routines established regarding individual care plans (p = 0.014) and had a significantly better job satisfaction (p = 0.001), compared to staff in the other municipalities. Implementation leaders may need to take the working conditions and the perception of available resources among staff into consideration in the on-going process of implementing individual care plans.