As person-centered care positively correlated with staff job satisfaction, supporting staff in providing person-centered care can enhance job satisfaction and might facilitate attracting and retaining staff in residential aged care. The findings reiterate a need to shift focus from merely completing care tasks and following organizational routines to providing high quality person-centered care that promotes the good life of residents in aged care.

Surrogate decision-making on behalf of a person living with dementia is often a difficult process. Advance care planning can play an important role in supporting this process. Healthcare professionals can recognise the challenges that surrogate decision-makers face and support them through advance care planning in a way that suits their needs and circumstances.

More extensive education and training about the relationship between pain and dementia are urgently needed, as is the development and implementation of an effective pain assessment tool specifically designed to detect and measure pain in older adults with all stages of dementia.

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Sexuality is an important contributing factor to quality of life and sense of well-being. All adults have the right to express their sexuality, regardless of their age. Research indicates, however, that older people frequently experience barriers to the expression of their sexuality. Many of these barriers are influenced by the health professionals and services that care for them. This paper will outline these barriers and identify strategies that the healthcare professional can implement to help improve practice in this area.

This paper discusses how pain and its undertreatment impacts upon older people with dementia. It outlines how the contributing factors to the underassessment of pain are numerous and includes dementia-related factors (such as loss of communication ability) and health professional-related factors (such as inappropriate or non-application of a pain-assessment tool and deficit knowledge regarding pain mechanisms and/or dementia). Pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options for pain are noted as important but are not the focus of this paper.

Abstract.  This paper reviews recent literature around sexuality, health care and the older person. The construction of sexuality and the importance of sexuality to older people are discussed, as is sexual diversity in old age, and sexuality and health. Also discussed are the myths and stereotypes associated with this topic, and the medical, social, healthcare, and institutional barriers to sexuality and sexual health in later life.

The QIs and QI program acted as a foundation for improving standards of care when used at the front line or point of care. Senior executive engagement in the QI program was vital to successful implementation.