Supporting collaborative relationships

There are a number of ways in which a partnership approach helps support the needs and preferences of older people.

These include:

• providing a high standard of individualised care
• recognising the personal rights of older people
• encouraging independence
• fostering a positive environment
• working together to achieve common goals.

In this video, Associate Professor Helen Forbes outlines some of the common issues older people experience when moving into aged-care relationships and how, by encouraging more effective communication between partners-in-care, a partnership approach seeks to better support the needs and preferences of older people.

Your task

Watch the video and, in the comments, share your ideas about what older people’s needs and preferences might be and why some models of care fail to support them.