Community Engagement at Bethlehem House: Reflective Learning Report

This report documents a community engagement placement at Bethlehem House, an elderly care residential home in Kogarah. The placement involved engaging with elderly residents through activities like board games, sewing, knitting, and religious gatherings. The report reflects on the disadvantages observed among the residents, such as loneliness and lack of specialized care, and connects these observations to theoretical frameworks of community engagement. It suggests improvements for the organization, including a vegan cafe, a library, and specialized mental health support. The report also discusses the impact of the placement on the student's values and skills, using Gibb's reflective cycle to analyze the experience. Desklib offers a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and past papers.

Running head: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON BETHELEM HOUSE
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON BETHELEM HOUSE
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON BETHELEM HOUSE
Argyris and Schön 1978
Gibbs 1988
Tripp 1993
Johns 1995
These theories will be used
No. of references: 16
reference style: Harvard

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON BETHELEM HOUSE
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON ELDERLY CARE
Overview of Bethlehem House
The aim of this community report is to document my experience during the course of
placement in Bethlehem House that is located on the Montgomery Street in Kogarah. The
highlight of this elderly care residential home is the feature of home-like setting offered to the
clients. Bethlehem House is in close proximity to the local community, shops and cafes. It
comprises of multi-storey building that has the facility of escalator. This would ease the
patients with rheumatoid and locomotive disorders. Apart from this, there is an on-site chapel
that provides an opportunity to the elderly population to pray along with courtyard area for
the relaxation of the elderly care population. It is a part of the Catholic Healthcare Family and
is a frontrunner in the domain of not-for-profit provider of the health of the aged.
 The community of people helped to serve during the placement in Bethlehem
House
The community of people who were helped during the course of the placement was the
elderly care residents of the Bethlehem House. According to the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare elderly care system in Australia offers a wide range of services for the welfare of
the teeming older population in Australia (Agedcare.health.gov.au. 2018). The philosophy
behind the elderly care service is to cater to the individual needs of each of the elderly person
considering that their needs are based on the type of illness, gender, economic status,
ethnicity, racial identity amongst others. According to a report published on 2016 there has
been an increase in the number of aged care homes in Australia. This is a welcome change
considering the number of elderly residential care homes that existed in 2006 as found in the
previous survey. Bethlehem House a renowned elderly care home situated in Bethlehem City
Australia is one such luminous example. The study further found that the number of
indigenous population placed in the elderly care homes account to less than 1 per cent of all
the people in permanent residential aged care. There are 4 per cent of the elderly care
population who are placed in the home care service. It was a revelation to find that 46 per

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cent of the elderly population who are placed in home care are diagnosed with severe mental
health illness especially depression (Aph.gov.au. 2018). It has been found that women
outnumber men in the residential elderly care services. Although older women enjoy greater
longevity, they are in need of greater intensive care. The elderly population in Australia
spend 3 years in the permanent residential care, 2 years and a period of 4 months in the home
care and around 1.5 months in respite care.
 The kinds of disadvantage observed, and/or the client needs addressed during
the placement
In Bethlehem House, I was placed on every Wednesday and Friday and the duration was
for 35 hours. During the course of the placement, I would engage with the elderly residents
with whom I develop a deep connection. The older population in Australia are not just in
need of intensive care but they are in search of company to drive away their loneliness
(Hibbard and Greene 2013). Solitude, depression and loss of power are the characteristics of
old age. The aged residents seek company to share their feelings, as they do not have anyone
to communicate their deepest sorrow. The elderly care residents are not in touch with their
children as their children are preoccupied with their own lives and hardly have time to know
about the well-being of their parents. In certain cases, like for some of the dementia patients
the motivation behind shifting to an elderly residential service was due to the lack of
compatible environment in home. Their children shunned away from the responsibility of
taking care of the parents as dealing with dementia patient demands patience, knowledge
about the illness and rigour. My goal was to make the residents feel valued and to drive away
their loneliness even if it is for a temporary period. I established a deep bond with the elderly
care residents and we participated in knitting, sewing and playing board games. I also played
the bingo for them which were appreciated by everyone.
 Possible connections between the activities undertaken in the placement and
theoretical ways of understanding community engagement issues
According to Australian Community Worker’s Association (ACWA), the
responsibility of the community worker is to understand the nature of relationship with
the client. A community worker has obligation towards the client in terms of not
disclosing the information off the client to the third party. Another responsibility of the
community worker is to treat the clients with dignity, respect and to promote, safeguard
and acknowledge the capacity for the self-determination. According to Swainston and
Summerbell (2008) have identified the following community activities. These are

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community coalitions, peer educators, school health promotion council, community
champions, community workshops, neighbourhood committees and peer leadership
groups. It has been argued that the effectiveness of the community engagement is
contingent on the interest of the community along with the target health behaviour. In the
context of my experience in Bethlehem House I engaged in activities in that were in
conjunction with the interests and ability of the elderly residents. The objective was to
deploy a participatory approach and therefore, participate in the everyday activities of the
residents (Dolgoff, Harrington and Loewenberg 2012). This was done with the intention
of making them feel that re valued and the activities that define their everyday life are in
no way unimportant. Secondly, the motivation was to provide companionship to the
elderly residents, an issue that is largely ignored whilst dealing the elderly care residents.
I was interested in understanding the healthcare needs of the elderly population
considering that a number of illnesses and each of those demands different approach
define old age. I drew inspiration from the community health educator model with the
aim of engaging with the diverse and multi-ethnic older residents (Sørensen, Van den
Broucke, Fullam, Doyle, Pelikan, Slonska and Brand 2012). The feature of this model is
that it empowers the community and promotes capacity building. The first stage in this
model is the identification of the problem that can be accomplished through rapid
appraisal workshop, focussed group interviews and individual interviews. The second
stage comprises of constructing the intervention program and in the third stage, there is
implementation of the program, monitoring and evaluation of the program that is
supported by the different stakeholders. Drawing from this model, my first step was to
conduct personal face-to-face interviews as well as focussed group discussions. The
rationale behind focussed group discussions was to enable the elderly residents articulate
their problems and share their experiences in a familiar setting in the presence of familiar
faces. Sometimes the participants have similar issues to discuss and therefore, the
focussed group discussion becomes helpful for them to express themselves. Personal
face-to-face interviews were conducted with the residents who were not comfortable
speaking in a group. Secondly, in case of patients with dementia, depression, morose or
other mental health problems amore personalized and intense approach is much more
ethical (Barua, Ghosh, Kar and Basilio 2011). During this interview, some of the issues
that were expressed by the residents are that of the installation of a vegan cafe, library,
trained healthcare professionals for the patients with mental health problem, resident
psychologist and the arrangement for recreational activities suitable for the vulnerable

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adults. In the next step, an intervention plan was developed to communicate to the
authorities of the Bethlehem House to seek their earliest action. The third stage is no
applicable at this moment considering that I have recently submitted the charter of
demands to the concerned authority.
 Suggestions for improving community engagement in the Placement
Organisation
Based on my interaction and experience with the elderly residents of
Bethlehem House, I strongly feel that there needs to be certain key changes for better
treatment of the residents. Firstly, although Bethlehem House offers top-notch
facilities for the elderly care residents, it can incorporate an in-house vegan cafe. This
is because some of the residents reported of their shift in lifestyle primarily due to
health reasons and therefore a preference for a diet. However, the vegan food is not
available everywhere and even if it is available it is quite expensive. Therefore, an in-
house vegan cafe within the premises of the Bethlehem House would be helpful in
catering to the dietary requirements of the specific set of residents. Secondly,
establishing the cafe within the premises of the elderly care home would preclude the
residents from seeking additional efforts of finding a cafe that would cater to their
dietary requirements. Another facility that needs to be incorporated is the
establishment of a library. Some of the elderly residents expressed their interest in
reading and complained that there is no library nearby where they can go and read
books. I realized that during old age, the older population seeks to engage in activities
that would not involve too much mobility and yet would provide recreation. Reading
and writing are such activities that provide relaxation to the elderly residents. There
needs to be the recruitment of a trained healthcare professional that have experience
in treating mental health patients. This is important considering that residents with
dementia cannot be treated at par with the others as the complexity of the illness
demands special attention. There should be the recruitment of an in-house
psychologist to ensure that the patients do not feel lonely or desolate or to prevent any
drastic step. The elderly residents expressed their desire for recreational activities like
recreational tours in the heritage sites of the city, picnic or occasional trips that would
help them to evade the drudgery and monotony of their life.

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON BETHELEM HOUSE
 The impact of the placement on my own values, assumptions and attitudes
relating to ethical workplace practice and social responsibility
The Gibb’s reflective cycle developed in 1988 is considered an effective tool for the
reflection of critical incidents of events that have a negative and positive impact on the
individual (Coward 2011). These refer to the events that have occurred in the personal
areas or the practical and learning areas.
-Description: My experience at the Bethlehem House was quite enriching, it provided
men an opportunity to spend time with the elderly care residents who wants to be valued
and feel special. This was part of my placement and we engaged in arrange of activities.
-Feelings: I felt quite overwhelmed considering that my grandparents are alive and
thinking that someday they might have to resort to elderly care homes. I felt sad seeing
the plight of the dementia patients and reflected on the challenges ushered during the old
age and the loneliness that becomes an everyday affair.
-Evaluation: The positive aspects of this placement were that I could interact with the
elderly residents and got the opportunity to understand them from close quarters.
However, the negative aspect is that I should have spent more time with the residents but
given the time-constraint, it was not possible,
-Analysis: The placement was necessary for training aspiring community workers to
understand about the community. However, I felt more students should have been placed
along with me to carry out the intervention plan in a more effective manner.
 The skills developed through the placement
Working with the elderly residents in Bethlehem House instilled in certain key
skills that I felt was previous lacking in me. Firstly, I developed personal skill that is
indispensable for dealing with the elderly residents. This includes good motivation,
enthusiasm, commitment and a positive outlook (Gray and Gibbons 2007). I also
imbibed the development-oriented approach especially though the mapping out of the
intervention plans for catering to the unique needs of the residents. I learnt about the
importance of being patient and working under difficult circumstances (Minkler
2012). Being flexible is one of the key attributes of a community worker. Lastly, I
learnt about the importance of treating different people differently through the
understanding of their case history.

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON BETHELEM HOUSE
References

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON BETHELEM HOUSE
Agedcare.health.gov.au. (2018). Reports | Ageing and Aged Care. [online] Available at:
https://agedcare.health.gov.au/ageing-and-aged-care-publications-and-articles/ageing-and-
aged-care-reports [Accessed 27 May 2018].
Aph.gov.au. (2018). 'Caring for the Elderly' - an Overview of Aged Care Support and
Services in Australia – Parliament of Australia. [online] Available at:
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/
Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/agedcare [Accessed 27 May 2018].
Barua, A., Ghosh, M.K., Kar, N. and Basilio, M.A., 2011. Prevalence of depressive disorders
in the elderly. Annals of Saudi medicine, 31(6), p.620.
Coward, M., 2011. Does the use of reflective models restrict critical thinking and therefore
learning in nurse education? What have we done?. Nurse Education Today, 31(8), pp.883-
886.
Dolgoff, R., Harrington, D. and Loewenberg, F.M., 2012.Brooks/Cole Empowerment Series:
Ethical Decisions for Social Work Practice. Cengage Learning.
Gibbs, G., 1988. The reflective cycle. Kitchen S (1999) An appraisal of methods of reflection
and clinical supervision. Br J Theatre Nurs, 9(7), pp.313-7.
Gray, M. and Gibbons, J., 2007. There are no answers, only choices: Teaching ethical
decision making in social work.Australian Social Work, 60(2), pp.222-238.
Hibbard, J.H. and Greene, J., 2013. What the evidence shows about patient activation: better
health outcomes and care experiences; fewer data on costs. Health affairs, 32(2), pp.207-214.
Minkler, M. ed., 2012. Community organizing and community building for health and
welfare. Rutgers University Press.
Sørensen, K., Van den Broucke, S., Fullam, J., Doyle, G., Pelikan, J., Slonska, Z. and Brand,
H., 2012. Health literacy and public health: a systematic review and integration of definitions
and models. BMC public health, 12(1), p.80.
Swainston, K. and Summerbell, C.D., 2008. The effectiveness of community engagement
approaches and methods for health promotion interventions.