Advancing methodologies to increase end-user engagement with complex interventions: The case of co-designing the Australian elder abuse screening instrument (AuSI)

ABSTRACT

In Australia there is an absence of an elder abuse screening instrument that is widely accepted and that has been designed with, and for, end-users. This study aimed to develop an effective and acceptable elder abuse screening instrument by engaging with frontline professionals through a co-design process. To date, co-design methodologies are recommended to ensure successful adoption and implementation of complex interventions by end-users, but the scholarship is limited on the specific steps to achieve this as well as the pragmatics of such work. Addressing this lacunae, results demonstrate how qualitative methods align with a co-design approach; underscore the importance of multidisciplinary perspectives; showcase how to streamline complex processes into routine practice; and accentuate the importance of good design. These are valuable insights necessary to develop inter-professional and community-based solutions to the challenge of elder abuse.

KEYWORDS:

• Australia
• co-design
• elder abuse
• intervention design
• screening
• tools

Supplemental material

Supplemental data can be accessed here.

Notes

1. In the state of Victoria, elder abuse is defined as a form of family violence (State of Victoria, 2016).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by State Trustees Australia Foundation. The authors confirm that the funding body had no involvement in the research.