Educational needs and workplace opportunities of allied health assistants: A qualitative pilot

Mickan, Sharon; Golenko, Xanthe; Buys, Nicholas

doi:10.11157/fohpe.v19i3.251

Cited by 5 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Similarly AHA training or qualification was only described in about half of the included studies. This makes it difficult to translate findings into practice as the qualifications required to work as an AHA vary [8,67]. Generalisability of our findings may be affected by the geographical biases of study locations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

The effect of delegation of therapy to allied health assistants on patient and organisational outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Snowdon

Storr

Davis

et al. 2020

BMC Health Serv Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Allied health assistants (AHAs) are support staff who complete clinical and non-clinical tasks under the supervision and delegation of an allied health professional. The effect of allied health professional delegation of clinical tasks to AHAs on patient and healthcare organisational outcomes is unknown. The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the effect of allied health professional delegation of therapy to AHAs on patient and organisational outcomes. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. Databases MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Informit (all databases), Emcare (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature [CINAHL] (EbscoHost) and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched from earliest date available. Additional studies were identified by searching reference lists and citation tracking. Two reviewers independently applied inclusion and exclusion criteria. The quality of the study was rated using internal validity items from the Downs and Black checklist. Risk ratios (RR) and mean differences (MD) were calculated for patient and organisational outcomes. Meta-analyses were conducted using the inverse variance method and random-effects model. Results: Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. Results of meta-analysis provided low quality evidence that AHA supervised exercise in addition to usual care improved the likelihood of patients discharging home (RR 1.28, 95%CI 1.03 to 1.59, I 2 = 60%) and reduced length of stay (MD 0.28 days, 95%CI 0.03 to 0.54, I 2 = 0%) in an acute hospital setting. There was preliminary evidence from one high quality randomised controlled trial that AHA provision of nutritional supplements and assistance with feeding reduced the risk of patient mortality after hip fracture (RR 0.41, 95%CI 0.16 to 1.00). In a small number of studies (n = 6) there was no significant difference in patient and organisational outcomes when AHA therapy was substituted for therapy delivered by an allied health professional. Conclusion: We found preliminary evidence to suggest that the use of AHAs to provide additional therapy may be effective for improving some patient and organisational outcomes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

The effect of delegation of therapy to allied health assistants on patient and organisational outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Snowdon

Storr

Davis

et al. 2020

BMC Health Serv Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The literature scan identified numerous potential barriers to and enablers of AHA workforce utilisation (See Supplementary Figure 1, Additional file 1 ). These included diversity of AHA roles [ 40 , 41 ], inconsistency in AHA skills and capabilities [ 8 , 9 , 40 , 42 ], service requirements [ 41 ], workforce capacity [ 13 ], gaps and inadequacies in governance and training of AHAs and AHPs [ 9 , 43 , 44 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring utilisation of the allied health assistant workforce in the Victorian health, aged care and disability sectors

Huglin

Whelan

McLean

et al. 2021

BMC Health Serv Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Allied health assistants (AHAs) support allied health professionals (AHPs) to meet workforce demands in modern healthcare systems. Previous studies have indicated that AHAs may be underutilised in some contexts. This study aims to identify factors contributing to the effective utilisation of AHAs across health, aged care and disability sectors and possible pathway elements that may optimise AHA careers in Victoria. Methods Using an interpretive description approach data collection included a workforce survey and semi structured interviews (individual and group). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and thematic analysis. Participants included allied health assistants, allied health professionals and allied health leaders in the health, aged care or disability sectors; educators, managers or student of allied health assistance training; and consumers of Victorian health, disability or aged care services. Results The literature scan identified numerous potential barriers to and enablers of AHA workforce utilisation. A total of 727 participants completed the survey consisting of AHAs (n = 284), AHPs & allied health leaders (n = 443). Thirteen group and 25 individual interviews were conducted with a total of 119 participants. Thematic analysis of the interview data identified four interrelated factors (system, training, individual and workplace) in pre-employment training and workplace environments. These factors were reported to contribute to effective utilisation of the AHA workforce across health, aged care and disability sectors. Study findings were also used to create a conceptual diagram of potential AHA career pathway elements. Conclusion This study identified pre-employment and workplace factors which may contribute to the optimal utilisation of the AHA workforce across Victorian health, aged care and disability sectors. Further study is needed to investigate the transferability of these findings to national and global contexts, and testing of the conceptual model.

show abstract

“…Many assistant practitioners believe that standardised training could better prepare them for their advanced clinical role 30 . However, even with standardised training, work‐based training may be required after qualification, as demonstrated in the Australian allied health assistant workforce where the therapy professions report insufficient vocational training and a need for on‐the‐job training 31 . These additional time and resource commitments must be accommodated by medical imaging departments to see the advancement of assistants' clinical roles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the role of medical imaging assistants in Australian medical imaging departments: A mixed‐methods study

Pinson

King

Dennett

et al. 2022

J of Medical Radiation Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Allied health assistants are support staff who assist medical imaging professionals in their clinical and non-clinical role. Assistants can improve efficiency of medical imaging services; however, little is known about the specific tasks they perform. Method: A two-phase explanatory, sequential mixed-methods study design comprising a time motion survey and qualitative interviews was conducted across three health services in Victoria, Australia. Participants were medical imaging assistants supporting medical imaging professionals. Participants recorded tasks completed on a time motion proforma across two working days. Time spent on tasks was categorised into patient related and non-patient related tasks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore assistants' perspectives about tasks, their roles and any responsibilities. Time motion data was descriptively analysed. Qualitative data were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the framework analysis method. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated using data triangulation. Results: Four medical imaging assistants participated, providing 4170 min of time motion data and 138 min of interview data. Integration of time motion and interview data revealed the medical imaging assistant role is predominantly non-patient facing; autonomous and critical to workflow; diverse and requires flexibility; has the potential to expand into a more patient-facing role. Conclusions: Medical imaging assistants make significant contributions to workflow management. Their role is predominantly non-patient facing but there appear opportunities for the clinical role to expand. Realizing these opportunities will require careful consideration of the challenges and benefits of extending their scope of practice.

show abstract

Educational needs and workplace opportunities of allied health assistants: A qualitative pilot

Cited by 5 publications

References 13 publications

The effect of delegation of therapy to allied health assistants on patient and organisational outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The effect of delegation of therapy to allied health assistants on patient and organisational outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Exploring utilisation of the allied health assistant workforce in the Victorian health, aged care and disability sectors

Exploring the role of medical imaging assistants in Australian medical imaging departments: A mixed‐methods study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About