Empathy in Action: Sharing Our Findings with the Heroes of Aged Care

Sharing research with aged care workers

In mid-April 2024, Devin Vindigni, Prasad, and I visited San Carlo Aged Care in South Morang, Victoria, to share findings from our research on The Challenges and Strengths of Aged-Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Learning from the experiences behind the research

The meeting was insightful and emotional, bringing the research findings back to the people whose experiences helped shape them.

The study identified significant challenges for aged care workers during the pandemic, including stress, anxiety, burnout, increased workloads and the emotional demands of caring for residents during an extraordinarily difficult period. It also highlighted the resilience of workers and the importance of support from colleagues, families, management and the broader community.

Hearing directly from aged care workers brought these findings to life and created valuable discussion about what could better support the workforce in the future.

The value of connecting research and practice

I am immensely thankful to the care workers who participated in the research, including San Carlo Aged Care management (Agnes, Dr. Claudio, Rhonda, and others), and my wonderful colleagues Dein Vindigni, Peta Murray, Jenny Robinson, Ruth De Souza, Dawn Wong, Christina David, Dawn, Prasad, Mark Buschgens, PhD and Nguyen Luu,

Their dedication and insights are a reminder of one of the reasons I cherish academia: the opportunity to learn from people and ensure research remains connected to real-world experience. Thank you.

A collaborative research effort

I also thank Magdalena Plebanski, Anne-Laure Mention, the RMIT Centre for Organisations and Social Change (COSC), and John Bonacci for their continuous support with funding, resources, and helping with the dissemination of the work.