Healthcare and Nursing

Patients with chronic diseases require specific skills for managing their symptoms. Therefore, an education programme for chronically ill people will be developed at the University of Applied Sciences for Health Professionals Upper Austria. The programme will comprise six workshops, individual coaching sessions, and regular group meetings.

The programme will be implemented in a primary care centre. Experiences, effectiveness, and acceptance will be evaluated in a study.

Strengthening the health literacy of the population and creating a sustainable health care system that is oriented towards the needs of patients are central building blocks for the improvement of the national health care system in Austria. In order to involve patients in the treatment process, a holistic approach to health care from prevention to therapy and aftercare is needed in addition to strengthening general health literacy. Furthermore, patient-centred care requires improved interdisciplinary collaboration between physicians, therapists, nurses and other medical professionals.

In Austria, as in many other countries, the older population continues to grow. Often elderly people prefer staying in their own homes for as long as they can, and only move into a nursing home at a later stage in their lives or only if need be. However, to respond to this important and understandable request for independence, family members and informal caregivers have to take on challenging responsibilities. Our project aims to support these individuals in home care for elderly people.

People with dementia often develop problems to communicate with other people. Contacts with domestic pets, however, are often less complicated for them. For this reason, pets are employed to stimulate social interaction and well-being. If this is not allowed by the given institutional arrangements, robotic pets can be used instead. At present only little information is available on the reactions of persons concerned as well as on what to consider when using robotic pets with dementia patients.

In Austria, nursing predominantly takes place at home. Mainly relatives or informal caregivers working for agencies which provide personal assistance are involved. Professional nurses and medical specialists are often contacted at a very late stage. This leaves both family and informal caregivers with a variety of challenges.