LearnerGuide 1_CHCCCS015_CHCCCS023_HLTAAP001

CHC33015 Certificate III in
Individual Support
Learner Guide 1
Support Independence and
Well-being
Version 2.3 Produced 27April 2018
Version control & document history
Date Summary of modifications made Version
13 June 2016 Version 1 final produced for course launch. 1.0
Version 2.0 produced with the following modifications:

17 March 2017  Chapters restructured to follow the flow of 2.0
assessments in the Assessment Workbook
associated with this Learner Guide
Updated the following links:
 Guide for reporting reportable assaults
 Falls prevention for older people
20 November  Respiration-Ventilation 3D Medical Animation
2.1
2017  Fertilisation
 Wound Healing
Removed ‘Conclusion’ page.
Minor changes in wording and format.
9 March 2018 Updated broken links. 2.2
Modifications include the following:

 Minor wording and formatting
 Removed item referring to books and materials
listed under Resources
 Moved 'Person-centred planning' section to
beginning of Chapter 1.4
27 April 2018  Updated definition of Psychological Needs in 2.3
Chapter 2.5
 Rectified text colour on ‘Nervous system’ in
Chapter 3.13
 Removed Chapter 3.14 ‘Basic Body Maintenance'
 Transferred content from Chapter 3.14 to Chapters
2.4-2.7
Learner Guide1 Version No. 2.3 Produced 27 April 2018

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
This is an interactive table of contents. If you are viewing this document in Acrobat clicking
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LEARNER GUIDE CLUSTER ........................................................... 4

CHAPTER 1: INDIVIDUALISED SUPPORT ......................................... 11
1.1 Ageing and Disability ......................................................................................... 12
1.2 Policies and Procedures ..................................................................................... 15
1.3 Service Delivery Models ..................................................................................... 16
1.4 Person-Centred Approach .................................................................................20
1.5 Independence ..................................................................................................... 28
1.6 Privacy and Dignity ............................................................................................ 32
1.7 Duty of Care ........................................................................................................ 36
1.8 Risks in the Workplace ...................................................................................... 39
1.9 Safety and Feeling of Security ........................................................................... 41
1.10 Communication .................................................................................................. 44
1.11 Role and Responsibilities .................................................................................. 52
1.12 Community Participation and Inclusion .......................................................... 54
CHAPTER 2: INDEPENDENCE AND WELL-BEING ............................. 59
2.1 Quality Improvement......................................................................................... 59
2.2 Person-Centred Approach ................................................................................. 63
2.3 Stages of Human Development ......................................................................... 65
2.4 Physical Needs .................................................................................................... 68
2.5 Social and Recreational Needs .......................................................................... 78
2.6 Emotional Needs ................................................................................................ 84
2.7 Cultural and Spiritual Needs ............................................................................. 91
2.8 Sexuality .............................................................................................................. 97
2.9 Comfort and Safety........................................................................................... 102
2.10 Requirements for Good Health ................................................................... 109
2.11 Support for Older and Disabled People ........................................................... 111
CHAPTER 3: HEALTHY BODY SYSTEMS........................................ 112
3.1 Human Cells, Tissues, and Organs .................................................................. 112
3.2 Respiratory System ........................................................................................... 114
3.3 Cardiovascular System ...................................................................................... 115
3.4 Musculoskeletal System .................................................................................... 119
3.5 Endocrine System............................................................................................. 123
3.6 Nervous System ................................................................................................ 125
3.7 Digestive System .............................................................................................. 128
3.8 Urinary and Excretory System ......................................................................... 131
3.9 Reproductive System ....................................................................................... 134
3.10 Integumentary System ................................................................................. 137
3.11 Lymphatic System ............................................................................................ 139
3.12 Special Senses ................................................................................................ 141
3.13 Systems Working Together .......................................................................... 145

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LEARNER GUIDE CLUSTER
Description
HLTAAP001 Recognise healthy body systems
This unit focuses on the elements, performance criteria, performance evidence, and
knowledge evidence needed to show competency in recognising healthy body
systems. In this unit, the essential outcomes are:
 Work with information about the human body.
 Recognise and promote ways to support healthy functioning of the
body.
CHCCCS023 Support independence and well-being

knowledge evidence needed to show competency in supporting independence and
well-being of clients in a care facility. In this unit, the essential outcomes are:
 Recognise and support individual differences.
 Promote independence.
 Support physical well-being.
 Support social, emotional, and psychological well-being.
CHCCCS015 Provide individualised support

knowledge evidence needed to show competency in supporting independence and
well-being of clients in a care facility. In this unit, the essential outcomes are:
 Determine support needs.
 Provide support services.
 Monitor support activities.
 Complete reporting and documentation.

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About this Unit of Study Introduction
As a worker, a trainee, or a future worker you want to enjoy your work and become
known as a valuable team member. This unit of competency will help you acquire the
knowledge and skills to work effectively as an individual and in groups. It will give
you the basis to contribute to the goals of the organisation which employs you.
It is essential that you begin your training by becoming familiar with the industry
standards to which organisations must conform.
These units of competency introduce you to some of the key issues and
responsibilities of workers and organisations in this area. The units also provide you
with opportunities to develop the competencies necessary for employees to operate
as team members.
These units were clustered together because they form the essential knowledge and
skills that anyone studying to become an individual support worker should know
about working in a care facility.
Learning Program
As you progress through this unit of study you will develop skills in locating and
understanding an organisation’s policies and procedures. You will build up a sound
knowledge of the industry standards within which organisations must operate. You
will become more aware of the effect that your own skills in dealing with people have
on your success or otherwise in the workplace. Knowledge of your skills and
capabilities will help you make informed choices about your further study and career
options.
Additional Learning Support

To obtain additional support, you may:
 Search for other resources. You may find books, journals, videos and other
materials which provide additional information about topics in this unit.
 Search for other resources in your local library. Most libraries keep
information about government departments and other organisations, services
and programs. The librarian should be able to help you locate such resources.
 Contact information services such as Infolink, Equal Opportunity
Commission, Commissioner of Workplace Agreements, Union organisations,
and public relations and information services provided by various government
departments. Many of these services are listed in the telephone directory.
 Contact your facilitator.

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Facilitation
Your training organisation will provide you with a facilitator. Your facilitator will
play an active role in supporting your learning. Your facilitator will help you anytime
during working hours to assist with:
 How and when to make contact,
 what you need to do to complete this unit of study, and
 what support will be provided.
Here are some of the things your facilitator may do to make your study easier:
 Give you a clear visual timetable of events for the semester or term in which
you are enrolled, including any deadlines for assessments.
 Provide you with online webinar times and availability.
 Use ‘action sheets’ to remind you about tasks you need to complete, and
updates on websites.
 Make themselves available by telephone for support discussion and provide
you with industry updates by email where applicable.
 Keep in touch with you during your studies.
Flexible Learning
Studying to become a competent worker is an interesting and exciting thing to do.
You will learn about current issues in this area. You will establish relationships with
other students, fellow workers, and clients. You will learn about your own ideas,
attitudes, and values. You will also have fun. (Most of the time!)
At other times, studying can seem overwhelming and impossibly demanding,
particularly when you have an assignment to do and you aren’t sure how to tackle it,
your family and friends want you to spend time with them, or a movie you want to
see is on television.
Sometimes being a student can be hard.
Here are some ideas to help you through the hard times. To study effectively, you
need space, resources, and time.

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Space
Try to set up a place at home or at work where:
1. You can keep your study materials,
2. you can be reasonably quiet and free from interruptions, and
3. you can be reasonably comfortable, with good lighting, seating, and a flat
surface for writing.
If it is impossible for you to set up a study space, perhaps you could use your local
library. You will not be able to store your study materials there, but you will have
quiet, a desk and chair, and easy access to the other facilities.
Study Resources
The most basic resources you will need are:
1. A chair
2. A desk or table
3. A computer with Internet access
4. A reading lamp or good light
5. A folder or file to keep your notes and study materials together
6. Materials to record information (pen and paper or notebooks, or a computer
and printer)
7. Reference materials, including a dictionary
Do not forget that other people can be valuable study resources. Your fellow workers,
work supervisor, other students, your facilitator, your local librarian, and workers in
this area can also help you .

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Time
It is important to plan your study time. Work out a time that suits you and plan
around it. Most people find that studying, in short, concentrated blocks of time (an
hour or two) at regular intervals (daily, every second day, once a week) is more
effective than trying to cram a lot of learning into a whole day. You need time to
‘digest’ the information in one section before you move on to the next, and everyone
needs regular breaks from study to avoid overload. Be realistic in allocating time for
study. Look at what is required for the unit and look at your other commitments.
Make up a study timetable and stick to it. Build in ‘deadlines’ and set yourself goals
for completing study tasks. Allow time for reading and completing activities.
Remember that it is the quality of the time you spend studying rather than the
quantity that is important.
Study Strategies
Different people have different learning ‘styles’. Some people learn best by listening
or repeating things out loud. Some learn best by ‘doing’, some by reading and making
notes. Assess your own learning style and try to identify any barriers to learning
which might affect you. Are you easily distracted? Are you afraid you will fail? Are
you taking study too seriously? Not seriously enough? Do you have supportive
friends and family? Here are some ideas
for effective study strategies:
Make notes. This often helps you to
remember new or unfamiliar information.
Do not worry about spelling or neatness,
as long as you can read your own notes.
Keep your notes with the rest of your
study materials and add to them as you go.
Use pictures and diagrams if this helps.
Underline keywords when you are reading the materials in this Learner Guide.
(Do not underline things in other people’s books.) This also helps you to remember
important points.
Talk to other people (fellow workers, fellow students, friends, family, or your
facilitator) about what you are learning. As well as helpyou to clarify and understand
new ideas, talking also gives you a chance to find out extra information and to get
fresh ideas and different points of view.

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Using this Learner Guide
A Learner Guide is just that, a guide to help you learn. A Learner Guide is not a
textbook. Your Learner Guide will:
1. Describe the skills you need to demonstrate to achieve competency for this
unit.
2. Provide information and knowledge to help you develop your skills.
3. Provide you with structured learning activities to help you absorb knowledge
and information and practice your skills.
4. Direct you to other sources of additional knowledge and information about
topics for this unit.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Learner Guide

Read through the information in the Learner Guide carefully. Make sure you
understand the material.
Some sections are quite long and cover complex ideas and information. If you come
across anything you do not understand:
1. Talk to your facilitator.
2. Discuss the issue with other people (your workplace supervisor, fellow
workers, fellow students).
3. Try to relate the information presented in this Learner Guide to your own
experience and to what you already know.
4. Ask yourself questions as you go. For example, ‘Have I seen this happening
anywhere?’‘Could this apply to me?’‘What if...’ This will help you to ‘make
sense’ of new material, and to build on your existing knowledge.
5. Talk to people about your study.Talking is a great way to reinforce what you
are learning.
6. Make notes.
7. Work through the activities. Even if you are tempted to skip some activities,
do them anyway. They are there for a reason, and even if you already have the
knowledge or skills relating to a particular activity, doing them will help to
reinforce what you already know. If you do not understand an activity, think
carefully about the way the questions or instructions are phrased. Read the
section again to see if you can make sense of it. If you are still confused,
contact your facilitator or discuss the activity with other students, fellow
workers or with your workplace supervisor.
Additional Research, Reading, and Note-Taking

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If you are using the additional references and resources suggested in the Learner
Guide to take your knowledge a step further, there are a few simple things to keep in
mind to make this kind of research easier.
Always make a note of the author’s name, the title of the book or article, the edition,
when it was published, where it was published, and the name of the publisher. This
includes online articles. If you are taking notes about specific ideas or information,
you will need to put the page number as well. This is called the reference
information. You will need this for some assessment tasks, and it will help you to find
the book again if you need to.
Keep your notes short and to the point. Relate your notes to the material in your
Learner Guide. Put things into your own words. This will give you a better
understanding of the material.
Start off with a question you want answered when you are exploring additional
resource materials. This will structure your reading and save you time.

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CHAPTER 1: INDIVIDUALISED SUPPORT
Individual support workers provide support and care according to the client’s
individualised care plan. Care plans provide care directions for the client’s holistic
care needs. Holistic includes physical, emotional, spiritual, cultural, and social needs.
Care plans are developed with a person-centred approach. A person-centred
approach to care planning focuses on the needs, strengths and goals of the
individual, and a plan is developed to assist the individual to meet their individual
needs. The aims of a person-centred approach to care and planning are person
empowerment and control over their life and life goals.
Care plans are regularly reviewed and updated by relevant stakeholders (e.g. client,
family members, doctor and registered nurse) to meet changing needs to ensure the
care plan goals are being achieved. They can be reviewed as required; every three
months, six months and/or twelve months depending on the client’s individual
needs.
All staff, including yourself, will be responsible for maintaining the care plans for
people in your care. It is part of your role and responsibility to document and report
to your supervisor any changes in the client’s condition and needs.
It is important to know where to located and understand the organisation’s policy
and procedures in relation to documents and the care planning process. Always ask
your supervisor for directions and clarification if you are ever unsure.

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1.1 Ageing and Disability
Ageing
With increasing number of older adults in the population and increasing associated
health costs, individual support care has gained a significant national profile. There
is now a clearly recognised need for an appropriate range of choices in residential
support care, respite care and community-based care where the client can stay in
their home longer. The philosophy of
providing support for our ageing population
is now seen to involve:
 More consideration of the issues
affecting the older adult’s ability to
be independent.
 A focus on social and family
networks providing increased
support.
 Increased assistance for the older adult to remain at home, leading as
active a life as possible.
 Increased recognition of the rights of the aged.
 Education of the aged to pursue their rights.
 Free access to mufti-disciplinary health assessment.
 Use of institutional care only as a final resort.
 Varied institutional settings allowing for high-level care only when
necessary.
 Emphasis on preventive programs.

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Ageing is caused by thelifelong accumulation of damage; it begins early. It is
important to embrace lifelong approaches to healthy ageing. The following are some
of the factors that affect the older client requiring support:
 Attitudinal barriers – These are behaviours and perceptions about
ageing and disability that cause difficulty or misunderstanding with
them and other individuals. Some attitudinal barriers include:
o Presumption that older individuals are given unfair advantages.
o Presumption that older individuals are incapable of
accomplishing tasks and not given the opportunity to display
their skills.
o Because older individuals may be impaired in one or more major
life functions, some people treat them as second-class citizens.
o Some people feel sorry for older individuals, which tends to lead
to patronising attitudes.
 Physical health condition.
 Social, emotional and mental health condition of the older client.
 Access to support from family, carers, financial capacity, etc.
Other factors include personal choice (how to exercise and preserve it), biological
and psychological barriers to independence and consideration for carer’s health and
well-being.
When an ageing person has an informal carer, the changes they experience can affect
the degree of assistance they provide. An informal carer is broadly defined and refers
to any relative, partner, friend, or neighbour who has a significant personal
relationship with a person and provides a broad range of assistance for them. Service
providers must respect and acknowledge the needs of the carer. If these needs are
not met, the carer may become distressed and depressed. This can have a negative
impact not only on them but also on the person they are caring for.
Another issue older adults can face is stereotyping.Stereotypes can be defined as
characteristics assigned to entire groups of people. Stereotypes, however, tend to be
biased and are often unflattering ideas about the characteristics of particular groups
of people. Stereotypes about ageing and older adults picture all members of the
group as having the same generally undesirable characteristics. Grey hair, forgetful,
short-sightedness, deafness, wrinkles, bad temper and intolerance of the young are
common ageist attitudes of the older client.
Stereotyping tends to encourage certain attitudes and confirm undesirable
perceptions of the group it is applied to. As a result, this can cause discrimination
towards older adults. This can also cause, what is known as ‘self-fulfilling
prophecies’;if older adults are stereotyped often enough they can start to believe in

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the truth of the stereotype and this, in turn, makes them start to act in the way they
are depicted.
Discrimination against clients can be minimised or prevented if policies and
procedures about this are set in place. The Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act) makes sure
everyone who needs aged care has access to it, where it is available, regardless of
their race, culture, language, gender, economic circumstance or geographic location.
Managers and supervisors know the policies about caring for older adults and can
offer guidance on ageist attitudes. There are also brochures and books put out by the
government departments with advice on stopping ageist attitudes.
Stereotyping and Ageing

1. What are the common stereotypes or discriminating
attitudes about ageing that you know, or you’ve heard of?
2. How do you think would the older people feel when they
hear about these stereotypes discriminating attitudes?
Disability
There are a number of key issues that people with a disability are faced with, and
these include the following:
 Discrimination
 Access to education and employment
 Participation in society
 Finances
Lack of access, attitudes and ignorance are barriers that create many difficulties for
people with a disability and their families. Disability services must use strategies to
help remove barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating in
society. The extent to which people with disabilities participate will vary, but the aim
is to maximise their access to opportunities that are available in mainstream society.
Disability services must reflect the aims of the person-centred approach in terms of
empowering people to pursue their goals and ambitions.

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1.2 Policies and Procedures
Policies and procedures exist within organisations to ensure there is consistency in
the delivery of care.
Policies are formal statements that guide the decisions of staff. They combine the
values of the organisation within the broader professional and legislative framework
to which the organisation belongs. Policies should be consistent with relevant
Australian and State legislation, for example, the Occupational Health and Safety
Act, the Aged Care Act, and the Disability Services Act.
Procedures reflect the policies of the organisation. Procedures are step-by-step
instructions on how to perform certain tasks, and they provide clear direction for all
workers. Having procedures in place ensure that everyone knows exactly what to do
and how to do it. For example, an organisation’s procedure for hand washing,
manual handling, complaints/grievances, and privacy and confidentiality, explains in
detail how to carry out these tasks step-by-step.
You must familiarise yourself with your organisation’s policies and

procedures, and you must know where and how to access the policy and
procedures manual at your workplace.
It is also imperative that if you have any doubts or queries about what you need to
do, to ask your supervisor or colleagues for answers prior to attempting to do a task.
The reason for this is that it may cause harm to your clients, to you or to your
colleagues.
Human rights must be considered when making policies and procedures in a care
facility. The human rights approach incorporated in the aged care reform package to
the delivery of services for older Australians aims to promote people-centred
decision-making and real change in organisational culture.
(Source: www.humanrights.gov.au)

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1.3 Service Delivery Models
There are different service delivery models in individual care. These are in place to
ensure that clients will be provided with the necessary care and support for their
needs. Service delivery models in individual care include the following:
Residential care – It offers an on-going care, usually permanent, in
residential care facility tailored to an individual’s needs.
Respite care – It offers temporary, short-term care in a residential care
facility to support not only the individual but their carers to live at home
for as long as possible.
Home and community care – It provides care and support services to
assist individuals to continue living independently in their own home.
The Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) is a resource allocation instrument. It

focuses on the main areas that discriminate care needs among residents. The ACFI
assesses core care needs as a basis for allocating funding.
The ACFI focuses on care needs related to day-to-day, high-frequencyneed for care.
These aspects are appropriate for measuring the average cost of care in longer stay
environments.
The Australian Government pays approved providers an amount of residential care
subsidy for each care recipient.
Residential care subsidy is paid monthly and is calculated by adding the amounts
due for each resident for each day of the month. Providers submit a claim for each
month, including the details of each resident for whom they are claiming subsidy in
that month. They receive an advance payment in the first few days of each month.
This advance payment is then reconciled with the claim for that month, and the
following month’s payment is adjusted accordingly, either by making an additional
payment or by reducing the total amount paid in lieu of the previous month.
The Australian Government also pays approved providers an amount of home care
subsidy for each care recipient. Home care subsidy is generally paid monthly and is
calculated by adding the amounts due for each recipient for each day of the month.

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The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency has set the following accreditation
standards for service delivery models:
Residential Care
 Standard one: Management systems, staffing, and organisational
development.
 Standard two: Health and personal care.
 Standard three: Care recipient lifestyle.
 Standard four: Physical environment and safe systems.
Read about these Standards from this link:

Residential Aged Care - Accreditation
Standards
Home and Community Care

 Standard one: Effective management.
 Standard two: Appropriate access and service delivery.
 Standard three: Service user rights and responsibilities.
Read about these Standards from this link:

Home and Community Care - Accreditation
Standards

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Older clients usually seek aged care service delivery because they have needs that
could not be provided in their own homes. Some of these conditions include the
following:
 Incontinence – It is the involuntary urination, usually caused by a medical
condition. It can affect a person’s emotional, psychological, and social life.
This is a common condition in ageing as the muscles in the bladder and the
urethra declines in their ability to hold urine.
When not given proper care and attention, ageing clients who experience
incontinence may have symptoms such as smelling like urine, sheets and
clothing are stained with urine, and skin irritation.
 Dementia – It is amedical condition that is associated with a set of

symptoms affecting the brain such as adecline
in memory, impaired language and
communication skills, impaired reasoning
and judgment, inability to focus and pay
attention.
People aged 65-years and over are most likely
to acquire dementia. If their needs are unmet,
they would have a loss of:
o Self-esteem and confidence
o Independence and autonomy
o Social roles and relationships
 Hearing difficulties – Age-related hearing difficulties can usually be

observed through the following symptoms:
o Verbal messages need to be repeated several times.
o The client does not react to what yousay.
o TV or radio is set to loud volume.
o Failing to follow conversation in noisy surroundings.
Ageing clients who are experiencing hearing difficulties may show symptoms
of irritability, negativism and anger, fatigue, tension, stress and depression.
They may also have avoidance or withdrawal from social situations.

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As an individual support worker, you have the responsibility of responding to these
needs of the client to ensure that their rights as a person are also upheld. These are
the ways to respond to the following unmet needs of the clients:
Condition How to respond to the needs
 Schedule bathroom breaks.

 Use incontinent pads.
 Keep their skin dry by changing garments
Incontinence when they are wet and applying a barrier
cream if the skin is frequently wet.
 Follow their personal care plan regarding
incontinence.
 If the client finds verbal communication

difficult, speak slightly more slowly and use
simple words and sentences.
Dementia  Do things together; try to do things with the
client rather than for them when offering
assistance.
 Use preferred communication method.
 Face the hearing-impaired client directly

 Speak clearly, slowly, distinctly, but naturally,
Hearing difficulties without shouting or exaggerating mouth
movements.
 Assist client with hearing devices.

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1.4 Person-Centred Approach
Person-centred planning
Care plans are developed through person-centred planning. A person-centred
approach focuses on the needs, strengths and goals of the individual and a plan is
developed to meet their individual holistic needs. With a person-centred approach,
the client has control and empowerment over their life and life goals. Empowerment
is the process of supporting people to assert their own rights and make choices about
their own life. The main principles of person-centred planning are:
 The client is the centre of the planning process and fostering their right
to make informed decisions about their own life.
 Getting to know the client’s needs, values, beliefs, preferences, dreams,
interest, likes and dislikes.
 Providing information and using the client’s preferred communication
method to support the client to make informed decisions about their
own life.
 Including family members, informal carer, health professionals, other
service providers and other people of the client’s choice in developing
individualised care plans.
 Supporting the client to use their strengths and gifts in promoting
independence and quality of life.
 Person-centred planning meetings are conducted on a regular basis to
ensure the client’s current holistic needs are being met.
In the context of individualised support planning and delivery of care service,

person-centred practice for individuals is treatment and care provided by health
services that place the client at the centre of their own care and considers the needs
of the older client’s carers.
(Source: Victorian Government Department of Human Services)

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By following the client’s individualised care plans, you can foster a client’s emotional
well-being. Other support principals you can provide to support further a client’s
well-being includes:
 Supporting autonomy and personal responsibility while maintaining the
duty of care.
 Fostering social relationships internal and external to the organisation.
 Supporting independence as much as possible.
 Fostering the client’s strengths and abilities.
 Showing respect.
 Supporting privacy and dignity.
The Care Plan

Every client in your care will have a number of documents and records about their
care requirements. The most important document you will work with is the care plan.
Each individual has their own care plan, as their needs may differ from those other
clients. A care plan gives all staff, including yourself as anindividual support worker,
detailed information about the client and their specific care needs. This ensures
everybody works together in a consistent way and provides the best quality care for
them. Prior to providing care and support as specified in the care plan, it is
important to confirm the following with the client:
 You must confirm with the client their identity. All care plans must
contain information that identifies the client, which includes the client’s
name and their date of birth. Some care plans will contain a photo of the
client, but this must be in accordance with the client’s permission.
 Confirm the support actions and activities indicated in the care plan.
 Confirm whether there are any changes to the client’s preferences and
care needs (e.g. the degree of support required). You must report any
changes to your supervisor before these can be documented in the care
plan.
Depending on the client’s individual needs, information in care plans can range from
support with activities of daily living (ADL’s) to additional support including
community access, behaviour support, and communication needs. ADLs include
personal hygiene, transfer, mobilising, eating, and bladder and bowel care.
A care plan is a ‘dynamic’ document. This means it is reviewed regularly and updated
to meet the client’s changing needs. All staff, including yourself, will be responsible
for maintaining the care plans for clients in your care. Therefore, it is part of your
role to report changes to your supervisor.

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A care plan contains the following information:
 Care needs. These include daily activities and problems or issues of
the client which have been determined through formal assessment. For
example, a client with hearing impairment may be in need of a
particular type of hearing aid to help them communicate.
 Goals and outcomes. These refer to what level of support is needed
and the result of the support after it has been provided. For example,
the goal for a client with hearing impairment may be to maintain
effective two-way communication. The outcome can include the client’s
increased ability to express their needs with the help of communication
aids.
 Interventions and actions. These are strategies on what needs to be
done to support the client to achieve or maintain goals and outcomes.
For example, you may be required to clean and check the batteries in a
client’s hearing aid every day to ensure that it works properly.
Organisations have different formats for care plans. Follow the organisation’s policy
and procedures in relation to the forms used and the procedures for care plan
development. Some care plans may require input for development and review from
other team members. For example, a speech and language pathologist can develop a
care plan for clients with complex communication needs and/or swallowing
difficulty. A psychologist can develop a positive behaviour care plan for a client with
a disability with behaviour support needs. A registered nurse can develop a care plan
for personal care needs and complex health needs. Disability individual support
workers could develop a weekly care plan for a client with a disability with input from
the client, their family, co-workers, and supervisor.
As an individual support worker, you will be part of the team when care plans are
developed. Your role involves providing
Organisations have different information about the client to others when
care plans are being developed. Individual
formats for care plans.
support workers directly support clients every
Follow the organisation’s policy day. Because of this, the information that
and procedures in relation to individual support workers provide is
the forms used and the valuable. While supporting people and getting
procedures for care plan to know the client, you are in a position to
support the client to express their strengths,
development.
interests, goals and health and well-being
needs.
It is also your responsibility to work with and maintain appropriate relationships
with the people in the team. Through team collaboration, the best possible care can
be provided to help meet the client’s holistic needs.

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Monitoring, Recording, and Reporting
Continuity of care and the pursuit of common objectives involve accurate and precise
verbal and written reporting and recording of information. Monitoring is concerned
with observation and recording of the client’s condition and their holistic care
needs. The client’s condition and care needs can be subject to change for many varied
reasons. It is your duty of care to report any change in the client’s care needs, health
and well-beingto your supervisor.A client’s care needs can involve the following:
 Independence ability
 Emotional well-being
 Personal care
 Medical conditions
 Physical conditions
 Community participation
 Changes in behaviour and/or behaviours of concern
Monitoring is also concerned with theobservation of the client’s progress to the
planned targets, achievements, the client’s responses and any changes. It must
include input from the client. It is important to support the client to review their
own progress. All care plans will have either a record of progress, chart and/or
notes to complete. As anindividual support worker, it is your responsibility to
ensure these are completed.
Any change in the client’s care needs, health and well-being must be
conveyed to your supervisor immediately.
Records involving the client are legal documents. When writing and maintaining
records relevant to the clients, remember the following procedures:

Page 23
Progress Notes
Progress notes are legal documents and must be filled out according to process, as
accurately as possible, including all pertinent details relevant to the client. Such
document is completed immediately after an incident has occurred. Remember the
following steps when writing progress notes:
 Write progress notes in print using black ink.
 Do not use correction fluid (whiteout) for errors.
 Put a line through any errors, rewrite the information, and sign your
initials on the correction.
 When you have made an entry, draw a line through to the end of the
page.
 Write the dates when the note has been written, including the time of
the incident.
 All notes must be signed and include the compiler’s printed name and
status.
 Never write personal opinion (write objectively rather than subjectively)
and only write the facts.
Some additional reminders when completing the client’s progress notes:

 Ensure that you have the correct client records.
 Use only abbreviation approved by the organisation.
 Use terminologies accurately.
 Writing must be legible.
 Write client’s direct words with quotation marks. Avoid writing
assumptions.

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Example:
Mitchell, a 70-year-old client, does not want to take the medication you brought
him for chest pains. According to him, he has already taken his other medication
and it has done nothing to suit his pain.
What to write in the progress notes:

Mitchell refused to take the medication for chest pains because the other
medication is not helping suit his pain.
Mitchell said that he does not want to take the medication for chest pains. He
said, ‘I’ve already taken my other pills. They did not take away my pain’.
 Entries must be factual, accurate and in a logical order.

 NEVER complete records on behalf of other staff members.
Read about more tips for writing progress

notes from this link: Documenting Skills in
Aged Care – Progress Notes

Page 25
Sample progress note:
Incident Reports
The aims of incident reporting are to:
 Support the provision of high-quality services to clients through the full
and frank reporting of adverse events and subsequent analysis.
 Assure and enhance the quality of the department’s programs, through
monitoring and acting on trends identified through incident reports.
 Inform the appropriate ministers, the secretary, executive directors,
program directors and directors of health and aged care, of significant
incidents affecting clients and staff, in a timely and accurate manner.
 Ensure due diligence and duty of care requirements are met and any
identified deficits addressed.
 Support organisational consistency.
Consider the following process when writing incident reports:

 Respond to the immediate needs of the individual.
 Advise senior staff members.
 Contact the department and advise of the incident.
 Submit the incident report form.
Note, however, that processes in writing these records may vary within different
organisations.

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Activity
If you notice changes in the client’s condition, not only must you report it to your
supervisor but also write in the client’s progress notes. List the main points you
must be aware of when writing theclient’s progress notes.

Page 27
1.5 Independence
It is essential that you recognise that each individual has a right to independence
which allows them to exercise control over his or her own life.
Why is it necessary and important to promote independence? You might consider
that to teach or promote independence is time-consuming and difficult to
accomplish. You might consider it quicker to DO the task yourself rather than assist
the client to attend to the task. An example may be in assisting the client to shower
and dress, where it is easier and quicker for you to do the activity for your client
rather than getting/encouraging them to do it themselves or with assistance.
Independence is important for improving one’s self-esteem and self-worth, for
having a choice and control within their lives.
Supporting independence is providing opportunities for the client to do as much for
themselves as practical while also maintaining your duty of care (ensuring no harm
comes to the client from action or inaction). Assistive devices can support
independence. The client would require an assessment by a health care specialist
such as a physiotherapist and/or an occupational therapist.
Assistive devices range from walking assistance items, shower chair, long-handled
shoe horn’s, zipper pullers, knives and cups, portable shower chairs and beds, etc.
which are available to be used in order to provide assistance and promote
independence.
Active Support and Strength-Centred Practice

Active support is designed to make sure that people who need support have the
chance to be fully involved in their lives and receive the right range and level of
support to be successful. It builds on the client’s strengths, that is, supporting the
client to engage in their life based on their abilities rather than disabilities.
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The underlying principles of active support involve supporting meaningful activities
and relationships, helping people to gain more control over their own lives and to
become valued members of their community. It promotes optimum participation in
everyday activities of the client’s own life. It involves developing and maintaining
skills in self-care, engagement in social activities and relationships.
The benefits of active support for people are:
 Promotes independence and autonomy.
 Support choice and control over own life.
 Supports active participation in physical and mental activities.
 Supports active participation in relationships.
 Promotes health and well-being.
Strength-centred practices look at what the client can do, and what they want to be
able to do; rather than focus on what they are not able to do and build on these.
Similar to the person-centred approach, the client is the expert regarding what
outcomes they want to achieve in their life. The following are the some of the
principles in strength-based approach in the context of support service:
 Every client has their strengths.
 Trauma and abuse, illness and struggle have harmful effects, but they
may also be sources of challenge and opportunity for the individual.
 Clients can best be served by working closely with them.
 Every environment has resources.
(Source: Strengths-based Approach: Definition, History, Philosophy, Principles and
Practice)

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Activity
Access the case study by clicking on the blue link below. Discuss the benefits of
active support and provide an example of how you would apply the active
support model when supporting a client.
Disability Sector Case Studies

Case Study – Active Support

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Below are two (2) examples of active support:
Jenny
Jenny is a 55-year-old woman with a physical and intellectual disability. Jenny loves cooking
shows but has never cooked a meal. When meals are cooked Jenny always watches staff
prepare them. One day Jenny expressed an interest in cooking; she can make sandwiches
and is very creative at making the sandwiches look attractive and appetising.
To support Jenny to actively participate in cooking, picture cards are shown of different
meals for Jenny to choose from. The pictures cards were developed with input from Jenny,
her mother, the support team and Jenny’s speech and language pathologist. The cards are
located in a place where Jenny can access them.
Due to Jenny’s physical disability she is unable to hold a spoon and bowl when mixing
ingredients. Jenny was referred to the physiotherapist and now uses a spoon with an
oversized handle and a non-slip mat to mix ingredients.
The staff provided the right amount of support, ‘not too much and not too little’, and the
correct guidance (e.g. verbal prompts, gestures and positive feedback) to meet Jenny’s
needs. Jenny has now developed skills in cooking and has developed her strength of making
food look attractive.
Jenny now makes cupcakes for family and friends, and everyone comments on how
wonderful they look. This has increased her self-esteem and confidence.
Tommy
Tommy is a 70-year-old man with an acquired brain injury. Before, staff provided lots of
caring support, however, this made Tommy dependant on the staff for nearly all his
activities of daily living. Tommy could only lift his arms and lean forward when staff put his
shirt on. Now Tommy chooses the shirt he would like to wear and can put his own shirt on
with minimal assistance. Through practice, correct guidance and the right amount of
support, Tommy is developing new skills and is now more independent.

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When supporting a client, there are prompting strategies you can do to help the
client learn new skills. These are:
 Getting the know the client’s preferred way to learn.
 Gestures, e.g. imitating the task.
 Verbal prompts, e.g. ‘hold the bowl, great work’.
 Physical prompting, e.g. passively assists the client physically as the
client requires.
 Modelling, e.g. showing how the task is done.
 Providing encouragement through positive feedback by way of the
client’s preferred communication method.
1.6 Privacy and Dignity

Privacy
Privacy is a basic right of all humans.
The privacy and confidentiality of residents must be upheld at all times when
providing personal care. This can be demonstrated by the following:
 The home and the approved provider are not informed orally or in
writing of the names of residents or representatives interviewed by the
team.
 Interview records are not left in view of anyone at the home.
 The reports prepared at the end of each visit do not disclose the
identities of residents or their representatives interviewed
(Source: www.aacqa.gov.au)

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When providing personal care in a respite care or in a client’s home, it is important
to consider the following:
 When working in a client’s home, always knock on their front door and wait
for them to answer prior to entering.
 Always knock prior to entering the client’s bedrooms and bathroom.
 Maintain the personal dignity of the client and keep doors closed, draw
curtains or screens when the client is undressing, showering/bathing or using
the toilet/commode.
 Do not touch a client’s personal belongings without permission. Some people

may see this breach of their privacy as touching them without permission.
 Ask the client for permission before you open their drawers, cupboards
or wardrobes.
It is easy for individual support workers who have been working with the same client
for a period of time to forget these basic ‘rules’. Think about how you would feel if
your privacy was invaded. The client may not want to be seen as a ‘complainer’ when
an individual support worker forgets these basic rules. So, don’t assume that the
client is happy with the ways things are done, always check by asking if your actions
are correct.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is seen as an obligation to the provider of the information whereas
privacy is an obligation to the source of information. Confidentiality and privacy
require that all parties must ensure that information is restricted to those who
genuinely need to know, and that those people should only be told as much as they
need to know and no more. Always, the ‘need to know’ rule is an important starting
point here, along with the general principle that any information that you have about
a client is private and confidential and should not be passed on to anyone else
without that client’s consent. Breaching of confidentiality can lead to legal action and
dismissal.
Each organisation will have a policy and procedure manual, and it is your
responsibility to read them so as to ensure you know how your job is to be done.
Personal information refers to any material whether photograph, video, spoken,
Page 33
written or otherwise that would show apparent identification of a client or personal
details.
 Personal information should only be collected from individuals with
their informed consent.
 Personal information is accessible only to staff who have a need for
access in order to perform their duties.
 Personal information is not made available to third parties without the
express consent of the individual, except where this is necessary to
achieve the primary purposes for which the information was given.
 All personal information must be protected from loss, modification, and
misuse.
 All personal information collected is stored in locked filing cabinets.
 All personal information stored in computer files are password
protected.
 When a client’s file is transferred from an office to a client’s home, all
personal information is kept secure in a locked briefcase.
 Respect the client’s privacy as you would any client. Do not gossip about
their ailments or personal affairs with people inside, or outside.
Clients give the names of next of kin or other family or non-family members who
they wish to have access to their personal information. If they have no known next of
kin or are unable to provide a name, the Guardianship and Administration Board can
assist with theappointment of a person as guardian. The guardian can assist the
client with informed decision-making on their personal and lifestyle choices if they
have impaired decision-making capacity. The person appointed as guardian can be
granted a power of attorney over the affairs of that care recipient.

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IMPORTANT points to remember when providing
support as per a client’s care plan
 Introduce yourself
 Refer to the client’s care plan and confirm you have the
correct care plan
 Communicate with the client about the activity and
their preferences including cultural needs
 Support as much independence as practical
 Maintain privacy, dignity and confidentiality at all
times
 Effectively communicate at all times
 Maintain duty of care
 Maintain a safe environment
 Report and document changes in the client’s condition
and care needs to the supervisor
 Always follow directions on the care plan

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1.7 Duty of Care
Duty of care is the obligation to take reasonable care of a client. Anindividual support
worker has a duty of care to anyone reasonably likely to be affected by their work
activities. As anindividual support worker, you need to use your skills and knowledge
to judge each situation, take into account what you know about the client and think
about the possible risks and how serious the risks might be. A risk is an action or
inaction that could lead to an outcome that is undesirable.
Duty of care encompasses the rights of the client to self-determination,

independence, and dignity. It generally includes the responsibility of the individual
support worker to ensure that the full range of the client’s rights is safeguarded and
upheld. These rights need to be considered alongside other issues raised by the duty
of care, such as physical safety, the right to take risks or dignity of risks, and the need
to break confidentiality.
(Source: www.sa.agedrights.asn.au)
Consumer-directed care (CDC) supports the dignity of risks principle by allowing

residents and clients to make their own decisions regarding the things they want to
do and take it at their own risks.
A duty of care is breached if anindividual support worker behaves unreasonably or
fails to act (which can also be unreasonable) in a particular situation. Duty of care
can be breached either by action or inaction. Where a breach of duty of care is found,
workers may be liable for negligence. Workers need to ensure that they are familiar
with the standards of practice, their industry standards, and any limitations that they
may have in carrying out that service. Individual support workers must always work
within their role and responsibilities.
Duty of care is ultimately about some very simple things:

 Taking ‘reasonable’ steps to prevent injury or harm
 Using common sense
 Being responsible and sensible in your work
 Consulting with your supervisor if you have any concerns

Page 36
When anindividual support worker fails to perform the job as required, they may be
found guilty of negligence. For example, the facility has a policy stating that bed rails
should be up at night. The individual support worker forgot to implement this task,
causing the elderly client to fall out of bed and injuring themselves. The individual
support worker may be found guilty of negligence.
This is the term used when individual support workers fail to meet the relevant
standard of care. This might be anindividual support worker doing something they
should not have doneor failing to do something they should have done. Again, it will
depend on whether or not the mistake was reasonable in the circumstances.
This may also arise when an individual support worker is unsure about the capacity
of the client to make their own decisions. Informed decision-making must be
voluntary, and there must be an understanding of the consequences of the decision.
The law assumes all adults are competent unless legally found not to be so. Judging a
client’s competence is not the individual support workers role. Always talk to your
supervisor if you are unsure of any situation.
Behaviour is deemed unethical when an individual support worker is not behaving
reasonably toward a client and is in breach of the organisation’s code of conduct.
Ethical conduct means selecting the right actions and rejecting the wrong ones.
Duty of care encompasses all the legislation and laws in Australia. As anindividual
support worker, you have a duty of care to take reasonable care not to harm another
client from your action or omission. Reasonable care is an action or inaction in
accordance with the laws, service standards and the values of the community. By law,
you have a duty of care to not only the client you support but also to their family
members, carers and members of the community who have contact with staff and the
organisation.
When considering duty of care issues and you are unsure, always talk to your
supervisor. Things you must consider are:
 The service standards
 Your role and responsibilities
 The possible risks and hazards that may occur
 The possible risk management strategies
 Client and stakeholders’ views
 Specific or statutory requirements
 Comparison of possible harm to potential benefits
 Directions on the care plan
When considering duty of care issues and you are unsure, always talk
to your supervisor.

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Individual support workers also have a duty of care towards their clients for any
suspected abuse. They must have systems and protocols in place that enable
mandatory or compulsory reporting of allegations or suspicions of unlawful sexual
contact, or unreasonable use of force on a resident of an Australian Government-
subsidisedorganisation.
Compulsory reporting of assaults is the responsibility of an approved provider under

the Aged Care Act 1997. Approved providers must:
 Report to the police and the department incidents of alleged or
suspected reportable assaults within 24 hours of the allegation, or when
the approved provider starts to suspect a reportable assault.
 Take reasonable measures to ensure staff members report any
suspicions or allegations of reportable assaults to the approved provider
(or another authorised person), to the police and the department.
 Take reasonable measures to protect the identity of any staff member
who makes a report and protect them from victimisation.
Read more compulsory reporting

from this link: Guide for reporting
reportable assaults

Page 38
1.8 Risks in the Workplace
Service providers have a duty of care to promote and implement work health and
safety policies to minimise and eliminate risks in the workplace,
The following are major risks which are typically encountered and how individual
support workers and the service provider can respond to these risks:
 Manual handling injuries – These are injuries resulting from tasks
involving the use of force such as lifting, lowering, pushing,
transporting, or restraining a client. These also include tasks which are
repetitive in nature. Common injuries related to manual handling can
include lower back pains, trips, falls, or fractures due to accidents. The
following are ways to respond to these risks:
o Ensure that bathroom design allows
sufficient space for shower trolleys,
hoists, and commodes.
o Install overhead railings/hoists in
rooms used for heavy or non-weight
bearing residents.
o Purchase height adjustable electric
beds.
o Maintain all wheels on linen trolleys,
commodes, hoists, etc.
o Ensure that the wheels on trolleys are
compatible with the floor coverings.
 Resident aggression – These are challenging behaviours shown by

clients and may include acts such as hitting, kicking, pushing, or verbal
abuse. This can be resident-to-staff abuse or resident-to-resident. The
following are ways to respond to these risk:
o Report concerns to supervisor, aclientmay require health
professional review.
o Follow directions on support plan and complete relevant
documentation.
o Train managers in record-keeping, analysing reports, and hazard
management.
o Employee discussions and problem-solving.
o Work in pairs/teams and avoid rotating employees between
residents.
o Don’t wake residents suddenly and always approach them from
the front.
o Train employees to protect themselves by defusing situations
using negotiation and anger management skills.

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 Infection – Transmission of infection in the support facility can cause
an outbreak of illness, if not controlled. There are the recommended
ways to respond to the risks of infection:
o Wash hands properly.
o Wear personal protective equipment (PPE).
o Consider all possible sources of infection to identify potential
hazards including:
- Resident equipment such as nebulizers, glucometers,
dosettes.
- Wound and skin care.
- Continence management.
- Management of ‘sharps’.
o Develop policies and guidelines (in consultation with staff) to
make sure standard precautions are always met when:
- Treating and caring for residents.
- Handling food.
- Cleaning and laundry tasks.
- Managing sharps and needlestick injuries.
Hazards and Risks

1. Consider a typicalsupport facility. What are other hazards
and risks that are often ignored in the workplace?
2. How can these risks be prevented?

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1.9 Safety and Feeling of Security
Older adults and people with a disability can experience safety and security risks
associated with the effects of ageing and/or disability. Possible risks include:
 Physical, including people who use wheelchairs and people who have
difficulty walking.
 Sensory (vision and hearing).
 People with disabilities that affect communication and thought
processes.
Being proactive about client safety can help the client feel secure
and comfortable, this can promote client enjoyment of community
access and participation activities.
Physical
People who experience difficulty walking may have disabilities that arise from
conditions including stroke, lower limb amputation, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s
disease and arthritis. People who experience difficulty walking are at risk of falls.
This description includes those people who:
 Use a walking aid (crutches, stick, frame, guide or assistance dog)
 Wear a leg brace or have an artificial limb
 Have limited physical stamina
 Have stiff or painful back, hips, knees or ankles
 Have uncoordinated movements
 Have balance problems
When supporting a client with a physical disability to access community venues,
there are some things that can help maintain the client’s safety and a feeling of
security, these include:
 Handrails at the venue can ensure adequate support and a feeling of
confidence and ease when negotiating steps.
 Provision of seating in waiting areas, at counters, and along lengthy
walkways can reduce fatigue.
 Awareness of ramps and lifts at the venue for access.
 Identify access hazards associated with doors, including the need to
manipulate a handle while using a walking aid and difficulty moving
quickly through swinging doors.
 Non-slip surface to minimise therisk of injury.
 Accessible transport vehicle, e.g. maxi taxi.

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Activity
Access the following site by clicking on the blue link below. Discuss five (5) strategies
for fall prevention.
Better Health Channel
Falls prevention for older people
Personal safety
When supporting a client to access community venues there are some things that can
help maintain the client’s safety and a feeling of security, these include:
 Keep money and credit cards in a safe place.
 Have an independent personal alarm.
 Being aware of people who may take advantage of older adults and/or
people with a disability.

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Activity
Read the guide to preventing falls from the Department of Health website by clicking
on the blue link below. Provide five (5) suggestions for preventing falls.
‘Don’t fall for it’
Sensory
When supporting a client with a sensory disability to access community venues there
are some things that can help maintain the client’s safety and a feeling of security,
these include:
 Information that is both written and spoken in public buildings such as
transport terminals and airports (e.g. visual display boards as well as
voice announcements).
 Audio loop system or other appropriate hearing augmentation systems.
 Audio-tactile devices at road crossings.
 Other ways a client can identify changes in direction, changes in level,
hazards and obstacles by, e.g. Tactile Ground Surface Indicators (TGSI).
 Ensure glasses are clean and/or hearing aids are working.

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Complex Communication needs
People with a wide variety of disabilities, including intellectual and cognitive, may
have difficulty when it comes to asking for things and understanding information.
You can support a client to overcome these things through:
 Supporting the client to use the augmentative and alternative
communication (AAC) methods that best suits them to communicate
and interact.
 Pre-planning the activity with the client. Consider that if a client
accesses the same venue on the same day and time, they will be
recognised as a ‘regular’ and be afforded more status than if they went
to a range of venues spread across different times. They would be
recognised as an individual by both venue staff and other ‘regulars’.
1.10 Communication
By increasing your repertoire of interpersonal communication skills, you can
increase your overall effectiveness and perhaps your job satisfaction. Communication
is a process where people can share information, make decisions and express
themselves. It is a two-way process. As anindividual support worker, you will
communicate with a range of people, one-on-one and also in groups.
Barriers to effective communication can include a client’s hearing and visual ability,
environmental barriers such as noise and extreme temperatures, emotional barriers
such as anger and mistrust, cultural differences, and language barriers.
Effective communication includes showing genuine interest and respect towards the
other person. Interpersonal communication skills include:

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Effective Listening
We sometimes think that we are listening when we are not. For instance, we jump to
conclusions before someone finishes a sentence. Maybe we even finish the sentence
for them. Being a good listener is about understanding what the other person is truly
saying.
Listening is a very important communication skill. Active listening is not just about
hearing what the person is saying but also understanding how they are feeling. Active
listening is about re-stating or paraphrasing what the other person has said to
confirm your understanding and show you are listening.
The following are strategies that can help us be an effective listener:
 Reflection - paraphrase what the person has said to ensure you
understand their thoughts and reflect your understanding.
 Try to picture what the other person is saying.
 Be aware of non-verbal expressions.
 Listen attentively.
 Provide a relaxed and quite environment.
 Respect and understand the person’s cultural values and norms of
communication.
Silence can provide time for a person to think about and process what has been said.
Showing genuine care towards a person and using effective communication skills can
help build a trusting relationship.
Audience Understanding
Try to look at the other person’s point of view. If you see the situation from their
eyes, you might understand better and be able to assist better.
Channel Awareness (all senses)

Being aware of who is sending the message, who is receiving, what the message is,
and the channels used is vital to understanding correctly. Pay attention to the
signals! Use all the senses to listen. Some messages are mixed messages which
include verbal and non-verbal cues. These cues might be missed if attention isn’t
paid to the message. For instance, someone might say ‘see you real soon!’ This
sounds nice enough, but if the person grimaced when they said it, that could signal
an untrue thought and feeling
Perceptual Clarity
Each individual perceives things differently. It is important to get the other point of
view to have theaccurate insight of the situation.
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Effective Verbal Messages (reasoning, evidence, credibility,
organisation, and style)
Using these factors to establish respect and understanding of the situation is
important in the communication process. A good communicator will establish
credibility and present it with good reasoning and evidence. Effective tips include:
 Speaking clearly
 Speaking at a normal pace
 Using everyday words
 Using short sentences and discussing one piece of information at a time
 Asking questions for clarification of the message
Appropriate Self-disclosure
Knowing when to share personal information is important.
Effective Nonverbal Messages

Language allows us to go where we need to go in communication. It’s like a map. It
isn’t as important to know it as it is to know how to use it correctly. Words seldom
capture all there is to say. A caring touch, a caring look or other nonverbal cues say a
lot. These things can reinforce messages and create sincerity (be aware of cultural
communication norms). Consider the following for effective nonverbal
communication:
 Use gestures and facial expressions to enhance communication, e.g.

nodding your head.
 Make eye contact (being aware of cultural norms).

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By using effective communication skills and showing empathy, you can
support the client to express their individual needs and develop effective
relationships.
Research has shown that there are three (3) fundamental skills to forming effective
relationships. These can best be described under three headings- Respect, Empathy,
and Genuineness.
Respect - Respect is behaviour which conveys to others that they are worthwhile,
unique, and valuable. It involves a commitment to live in such a way as to make other
people feel important.
Genuineness –Acting appropriately, sincerely, and honestly.
Empathy - Behaviour which shows that you understand the other person’s world as
they are experiencing it. In other words, ‘you see it their way’, or ‘put yourself in the
other person’s shoes’.Empathy is conveyed by:
 Reflecting back to the other person’sfeelings you are picking up on, ‘You
must have felt very angry,’‘You sound very happy’.
 Sharing related experiences of your own.
 Smiling when the other person smiles, frowning when the other frowns
(behavioural mirroring).
 Trying to understand why a person ‘did what they did’ or ‘said what they said’.
 Asking questions to gather information and making enquiries in a genuine
manner to understand more where the person is coming from.
 Recalling what it is like to be in that situation yourself.
Through effective communication and showing genuine care, you can help to build a
trusting relationship with the client.
Communicating with a Client with Complex Communication Needs

Communication is an important issue for all people with sensory, speech or cognitive
impairments because of the effect it can have on socialisation and psychological well-
being. Being inhibited in the ability to communicate can have a negative impact on a
client’s sense of identity and self-image.

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There is a number of strategies that you can use to support people with complex
communication needs. These include:
 Talking with the client and family members to learn about the client’s
preferred communication method.
 Using relevant communication aids that suit the client’s individual need.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) are systems, tools
and devices to facilitate communication.
 Seeking, listening to, and following advice from specialists.
 Show respect and look at the client when you are addressing
him/her.
 Seeking opportunities to support and encourage people with
disabilities to communicate.
 Using effective listening and communication skills.
 Convey to the client with a disability and family that they are important.
 Convey honesty and trustworthiness.
 Communicate with each client as an individual. In order to do so, you must try
to get to know the client, listen to the client and put yourself in their shoes.
 Accept and respect the client, as a person first, and having a disability second.
 Provide a comfortable environment (lighting, temperature, furnishings and
reduced noise).
 Establish a relaxed, unhurried setting.
Specialist Service
Specialists are available to assist people with complex communication needs.
Depending on the client’s disability the following specialists can assess the
client to determine the best way to support communication opportunities.
 Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) – Assess, diagnose
and provide treatment for people with communication and
swallowing disorders. SLPs work in public health systems and private
practice.
 Occupational Therapists (OT) – Assess the bodies function
to use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ACC) tools
and devices

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Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Some people may require more than one AAC support to help them communicate.
Their communication need is as individual as they are. A person can have a
communication assessment done by a specialist to determine their communication
needs.
Always use the client’s preferred communication method when you are
communicating with them. It is important to use AAC methods in a clear and
consistent manner every time you communicate with the client.
Types of augmentative and alternative communication

 Signing
 Object symbols
 Photos
 Drawing symbols
 Communication book
 Chat books
 Electronic communication devices
 Spelling boards
 Facial expressions and body language
 Pointing and gestures
Cultural Awareness
Successful communication involves both verbal and non-verbal interaction. That is,
to get our message across to others and to understand them, we need to speak and
gesture effectively. As many people are born in another country or speak more than
one language, we need to know information about them to ensure their care needs
are met. As people age, it is common for language use to go back to their first learnt
language. It is very important that we recognise this is happening and follow clear
steps to support the client. Learn about the other person’s culture to enhance your
understanding.
The following are some tips to help you communicate effectively across cultures:
Speak slowly and clearly
 The person needs time to understand your words. Pronounce your
words clearly, not loudly. We all have an accent, so check to see if the
person understands yours. Take care not to talk down to the person.
Clarify by writing down words. Don’t use slang words or jargon (like
medical terms and initials).

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Explain your role to the person
 It is important to explain your role in words that are understood by the
person.
Listen and observe
 Words are only one part of communication. The majority of our
communication involves many other cues. The way someone is dressed,
their stance, the tone of voice, the pitch, body gestures, the use of
silence. Be aware of your body language and learn about the body
language of the person’s culture.
 In some cultures, it is respectful to maintain eye contact, yet in another,
it is respectful NOT to have eye contact. Lack of understanding and
awareness can lead to misinterpretation and lack of respect.
Take time to listen
 The extra time taken to listen can enable you to clarify what is needed.
This will save a lot of time for all staff later and prevent the person
becoming frustrated or withdrawn.
People express feelings in many different ways
 Emotions and feelings are open to a lot of misunderstanding when
translating from one language to another. Remain respectful of people’s
different ways. One person may cry and sob to express their grief, and
another may not show any signs of emotion at all. Individual support
workers need to remain non-judgemental. Everyone has their right to
express their feelings their own way. What may be proper behaviour for
one group of people may be disrespectful to another.
Rules of communication
 All cultures have unspoken rules of communication. These rules include
things like: what is the right thing to talk about and in what setting,
what tone of voice we use, the speed we speak and the emphasis we
place on words. These are all factors to be considered when we speak
with people of another culture.
Differences in word meanings
 Some words have different meanings in different cultures. ‘Yes’ does not
always mean the person understands, it may be their custom to say ‘yes’
to be polite. It is better to have the person let you know that they
‘understand’ what you have said rather than accept a simple ‘yes’ for an
answer.

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Beliefs and attitudes must be respected
 People have developed certain beliefs about illness and ageing over their
lifetime. We need to ask for more information about what they believe,
rather than discount them. It is more respectful to ask them to tell you
more about what they believe and how they would be cared for in their
former country. Let the person know you are interested to know more
about them.
Do not assume that a person’s level of English will always be correct
 As a person translates from one language to another, the structure of
their sentences can become confused. This can occur if a person is
distressed or excited.
Co-workers
 Another group of people we need to consider in our workplace are our
working partners and colleagues. Many of our co-workers also have a
diverse cultural background. To promote a better workplace, take time
to find out about your co-workers without being too nosy. The more we
know about people, the easier it is to understand them and work with
them.
(Sources: Cultural Assessment Tool Understanding Cultural, Diversity in Mental Health
2002, Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing and Multicultural Mental
Health Australia)

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1.11 Role and Responsibilities
Ageing and disabled clients are not only confined to the care of the individual
support worker in the support facility; there are also other people involved in
providing support and care, and they have roles and responsibilities to fulfil,
including the clients themselves.
 Personbeing supported – It includes the role of the client, patient, and/or care
recipient. They have the following responsibilities:
o To respect the rights and needs of other people within the residential
care service, and to respect the needs of the residential care service
community as a whole.
o To respect the rights of staff to work in an environment free from
harassment.
o To care for their own health and well-being, as far as they are capable.
o To inform their medical practitioner, as far as they are able, about their
relevant medical history and thecurrent state of health.
 Carers and family members – Their roles include friends, family members
(spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, etc.), and other relatives. They provide
support with activities of daily living (ADL’s) and community access.
There are instances when a client assigns a substitute decision-maker for
themselves, and these may not include their immediate family members.
Carers and family members, including substitute decision-makers are sought
for assistance in the event that the older client or person with a disability is
unable to provide consent for themselves.
 Health professionals – These would include the nurse, doctor,
physiotherapist, psychologist, and therapist, among others. Healthcare
professionals help ensure the care and support provided to the elderly are in
line with the client’s health care needs. Health care professionals have a wide
range of roles and responsibilities. For example,
doctors attend to the client’s medical conditions;
nurses assist the doctors in carrying out medical
orders; physiotherapists help clients to keep moving
and to function as well as they can, and so on.
 Supervisors – These would include the registered
nurse, residential care manager, and team leader.
Supervisors oversee the roles fulfilled by the people
providing health care to the clients. The supervisor
may also work closely with a client’s physicians and
family to ensure that the client receives optimum
care.

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 Individual support workers – They can refer to individual support workers
and caregivers. Individual support workers provide physical care and
emotional support to people who require assistance with daily tasks, work
within the scope of their responsibilities, and report concerns to their
supervisor.
As anindividual support worker, it is also your role and responsibility to follow
the care plan and meet client’s individual needs. If you have difficulty with
implementing a care plan, consult with the client and seek advice from the
supervisor.
Individual support workers typically have policies relevant to work role boundaries,
which outline specific responsibilities and limitations within each role. This would be
outlined in the individual support worker’s job description and employee handbook.
Direct individual support workers must ensure that their support skills are
maintained and developed. The following are examples of practices that they can do:
 Professional development activities in the workplace (provided by the
organisation)
 A range of vocational education training for individual support qualifications
 Performance improvement plans
 Skills training
Seek advice from your supervisor on how these can be accessed from your workplace.

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1.12 Community Participation and Inclusion
The social model of disability argues that it is society that hinders people who have a
disability, and therefore it issociety that needs to change. Society makes it difficult
for people with a disability to participate fully, and so they often feel marginalised
and isolated from other people who do not have a disability.
The goal of the social development model is healthy behaviours for all.
Three (3) critical conditions are necessary for healthy attachment to occur:
1. Having opportunities for meaningful involvement with a positive social group
or individual.
2. Learning and practising the emotional, cognitive, social, and behavioural skills
to participate successfully in these opportunities.
3. Receiving recognition for their involvement.
Four (4) key external principlesinclude:
1. Support - from a network such as family, caring neighbours, community
services staff, and the community.
2. Empowerment - the belief and practice of valuing the contributions of people
3. Boundaries and expectations - clearly set, communicated, and supervised
rules and expectations.
4. Constructive use of time - time spent in the arts, sports, education, social
groups, activity groups, etc.
Four (4) key internal principles include:
1. Commitment to learning - the person sets personal goals to learn new skills
and does so with a positive attitude.
2. Positive values - living by the values that keep them safe, healthy, and
responsible.
3. Social competency - mastery of critical life skills.
4. Positive view of the future - a personal belief that they can thrive.
Valued social roles

When a person holds a valued role in society then they are more likely to have the
‘good things in life’ or have opportunities to acquire them. The ‘good things in life’
include respect, opportunities, a voice, and acceptance.
Social roles can be such things as a consumer, a worker, a student and a member of a
group.
There are two (2) things that can enhance a person’s social role and these are the
person’s competencies and social image.
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Social image
Personal appearance has a strong influence on the initial perceptions and first
impressions of others. Physical characteristics, degree of cleanliness, manner of
dress, style of hair and make-up are some of the things that provide the information
from which impressions are formed. The adornments that a person wears or carries
such as jewellery, handbag or briefcase provide additional information, as do the
objects with which they decorate their environment. People tend to judge others by
their appearance, a habit that can be detrimental as it can lead to incorrect
assumptions. For example, the social or financial status of a person may be
incorrectly inferred from the clothing worn.
Competency
Through person-centredplanning,clients can develop and maintain skills to have
valued roles in society.
Developing skills and having opportunities to live independently in society can be
illustrated in the following example.
Community participation and inclusion for people with a disability

To appreciate the diverse facets of access and inclusion, imagine that you are a
person who uses a wheelchair and you wish to visit your local community centre. You
are able to drive your own car and therefore do not have to try to use public
transport.
When visiting your community centre:
 You ring to check the accessibility of the venue and are assured that it is
accessible. You arrive and park in an accessible parking bay. However,
you cannot get to the footpath as there is no ramped kerb from the
parking bay to the footpath.
 You make a long detour through the parking area and when you get to
the front door find it is too heavy for you to open. You wave, and
someone opens the door for you.
 You get to the reception counter and, although it is high, you can
partially see the receptionist and get your query answered.
 You are directed to the enrolment desk for community courses. Your
chair cannot fit under the desk. You go back and wait in line until the
receptionist is available to help you fill in your form.

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 You prepare to pay your enrolment fee. The cashier’s desk, however, is
upstairs and, as there is no lift and you have to wait while the
receptionist arranges for the cashier to come to you with a receipt book.
 You wait in the foyer for the cashier and look at the noticeboard. You see
a flyer and pamphlets promoting a community consultation about
proposed changes to zoning in your district. As a resident you are
interested. However, you cannot reach the pamphlet dispenser. You also
notice the venue for the consultation and know that it is not wheelchair
accessible.
 You bump into a friend and decide to have a coffee. However, you skip
the idea when you see that the entrance to the coffee shop is up three
steps.
 You decide to visit the toilet prior to going home and are pleased to find
that it is accessible.
Community access can be difficult for some people. Even if a person is able to access
the community physically, they may have a disability that affects other aspects of
community access and inclusion. For example, a person may have a disability that
affects their communication ability. When a person is unable to communicate and
interact, they can become isolated. When supporting a person with a disability, it is
important to understand their individual needs to support them to overcome
barriers.
A person can be present in the

community but that does not mean
they are part of the community
What DoAccess and Inclusion Mean?

A person’s ability to access information, services and facilities is affected by a
number of factors including the degree and type of disability which can vary
considerably between individuals. The common elements of access and inclusion are
the removal or reduction of barriers to participation in the community activities.
Access and equity principles are designed to make a positive difference to the lives of
people with a disability, their families and their carer’s. Equity is about ensuring that
all people have the support that they need to access, participate and achieve the same
level. Equity is different from equal opportunity which is concerned with ensuring
that people are not discriminated against and treated unfairly on the basis of
difference. The main focus of equal opportunity is that everyone has an equal start
whilst equity focuses on participation and achievement. Access and equity are about
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removing barriers and opening up opportunities so that all people regardless of their
differing needs and abilities have the same opportunities to become productive
members of society. Equal opportunity includes such things as employment and
equal access to all community services and venues.
When working with a client with a disability, staff need to assist the client to identify
their strengths, interests, abilities and support requirements so they can assist them
to engage with a social network.
Using a strengths-based practice focuses on the client’s strengths. That is, focusing
on what they can do rather on what they cannot do. It encourages a client to use their
strengths to realise their personal goals and become more independent. The purpose
of strengths-based support is the active involvement of a client in resolving their
problems and recognition of their skills and competence. By supporting the client to
express their choices and fulfilling their goals and dreams, you are helping the client
gain control over their own life (self-determination).
Planning Community Participation and Inclusion

Through person-centredplanning, a plan can be developed to support community
participation and inclusion. Staff should support the client to identify and
acknowledge their interests. This can be achieved through providing information,
questioning and exploration through discussion. Information must be provided, and
communication must take place by way of the client’s preferred communication
method.
Information about and support to community access may include:
 Information about venues, support services, locations, and travel.
 Information about resources that will best suit their interest and needs.

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 Information about to access appropriate support networks that can assist with
successful inclusion/integration in community activities.
 Information about equipment such as mobility supports and technology that
will contribute to the ability to interact as desired to maximise successful
interaction.
 Information about what emotional, psychological and medical requirements
that will contribute to the ability to interact as desired to maximise successful
interaction.
 Information about risk and safety to account for specific needs. Prior to
community access, it is important a risk assessment is conducted,
and risk management strategies are put in place.
To support the clientto interact as desired, to maximise successful interaction and for
the client’s safety, care plans may need to be developed. Care plans may include:
 Positive behaviour care plans
 Travel plans
 Mealtime management plans for people with swallowing difficulty
 Communication care plans
Complaints
Clients and their family members/carers have the right to make a complaint if they
are not satisfied with the service. If they are unsatisfied with anindividual support
worker’s action and they are unable to resolve the issue with the individual support
worker, they have the right to approach the manager. If after meeting with the
manager, they are still not satisfied with the outcome, they have a right to take their
complaint higher. Finally, if the service provider does not handle their complaint
appropriately, they can take their concern to an advocacy agency. Clients and their
family members/carers have the right to be aware of information about the
organisation complaints process and advocacy agencies.

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CHAPTER 2: INDEPENDENCE AND WELL-BEING
Health, as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO), is ‘the state of
complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity’.
A person’s well-being is thought of as a combination of social, physical, emotional
and cultural aspects of their life. It is associated with life satisfaction and happiness
Supporting a client with their social, physical, emotional and cultural needs is taking
a holistic approach to care. Individual support workers have a duty of care to support
each individual to meet their health and well-being needs. Having our needs met not
only helps us to survive but also to function and take part in the world around us.
2.1 Quality Improvement

What is accreditation?
Accreditation is the arrangement established by the Australian Government to verify
that services provide quality care and services for clients. All services must be
accredited in order to receive funding from the Australian Government through
subsidies.
What is the accreditation process?

It is the responsibility of the approved provider to demonstrate the service complies
with the accreditation standards; they must work within a quality framework.
Quality improvement
Continuous improvement is about ensuring that the focus is on improving and not
just maintaining services within an organisation. Quality improvement involves a
focus on the safety, effectiveness, efficiency, acceptability, accessibility, and
appropriateness of services for clients.
It is important for organisations to regularly evaluate the way that care is delivered to
all people. One way of achieving this is to implement regular audits. An audit is an
inspection of processes, policies and procedures to determine if they are in place,
whether they are appropriate and whether they are correctly implemented.
Quality improvement is a continuous cycle of planning, implementing strategies,
evaluating the effectiveness of these strategies and reflection to see what further
improvements can be made. Continually striving to improve services for clients is
called quality assurance.

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Disability Service Standards
The National Standards for Disability Services are developed to ensure consumers
(person with a disability and/or family member or carer) of services are protected.
The standards compliment Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation.
Read more about the standards from these

links: National Standards for Disability
Services
Easy Read Version
The standards support the rights of people with a disability. The standards cover the
following:
Service Access
As an individual support worker, you must ensure each client has the right to receive
a fair service to meet their individual needs. You can help achieve this by:
 Following organisational policy and procedures.
 Provide non-discriminatory support.
 Support the client to access other support and specialist services to meet their
individual needs.
Individual needs
As anindividual support worker, you must ensure each client has the right to be
respected, have their individual support needs meet and be supported to reach their
full potential. You can help achieve this by:
 Support the client to regularly review their individual needs with relevant
people, e.g. family members and specialists.
 Provide support in a way that is sensitive to their holistic needs, e.g. physical,
emotional, spiritual, cultural, and religious needs.

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Decision-making and choice
As anindividual support worker, you must ensure each client has the right to
participate fully in the planning of their individual support needs through informed
decision-making. You can help achieve this by:
 Providing person-centred support.
 Supporting the client to make informed decisions by providing information
through their preferred communication method.
 Supporting the client to involve an advocate in decision-making.
 Ensuring duty of care while supporting the client to take responsibility for
their own decisions.
Privacy, dignity, and confidentiality
As anindividual support worker, you must ensure each client has the right to privacy,
dignity, and confidentiality. You can help achieve this by:
 Ensuring personal information is kept in a secure place, e.g. locked cabinet.
 Only share personal information with those who need to know that
information for theprovision of service.
 Ensure privacy and dignity are kept during personal activities, e.g. keep the
door closed while supporting someone with personal care.
Participation and integration
As anindividual support worker, you must ensure each client has the right to
participate in and be part of the community. You can help achieve this by
 Supporting the client to participate in employment, community services and
groups of their choice.
 Supporting the client to develop and maintain friendships and other
connections.
 Supporting the client to make choices about their life and what they would like
to participate in.

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Valued status
As anindividual support worker, you must ensure each client has the right to be
supported to develop and maintain skills that enable them to have valued roles in
their community. You can help achieve this by:
 Supporting the client to develop and maintain skills and capabilities.
 Supporting the client to build on their strengths.
 Acknowledging the client’s status as valued by your own interactions.
 Modelling appropriate interactions in the community and at home.
Complaints and disputes
As anindividual support worker, you must ensure each client with a disability has the
right to information about making a complaint and to feel safe to lodge a complaint
about the agency or service. You can help achieve this by:
 Supporting the client to be aware of their rights and how to lodge a complaint
by providing information through their preferred communication method.
 Supporting the client to locate an advocate where required.
 Ensuring the client’s privacy is maintained as per the organisation’s policy.
Service management
As anindividual support worker you can help achieve this by:
 Follow workplace health and safety procedures.
 Attend training to ensure you have the appropriate skills and knowledge.
 Uphold all human and legal rights.
 Support the client to provide feedback to the organisation’s services.

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2.2 Person-Centred Approach
With a person-centred approach to support and planning the client has control and
empowerment over their life and life goals. Empowerment is the process of
supporting people to assert their own rights and make choices about their own life.
Applying a person-centred approach to support services involves the client being the
centre of the process and includes:
 Getting to know the client’s needs, values, beliefs, preferences, dreams,
interest, likes, and dislikes.
 Providing information and using the client’s preferred communication
method to support the client to make informed decisions about their own life.
 Including family caregiver, other support providers and other people of the
client’s choice in developing individualised care plans.
 Supporting the client to use their strengths and gifts in promoting
independence and quality of life.
The care planning process is the system of assessing the individual needs of clients,
devising an individual care plan, implementing the care plan, monitoring and
adjusting the care plan where necessary and reviewing and evaluating the relevance
and success of the care plan. This evaluation of the care plan should then inform the
development of future care plans and lead to service improvement. All this takes
place with the client being at the centre of the process.
When people are not supported to make decisions about their life and all
independence is taken away from them, they can begin to feel powerlessness.
Powerlessness is when a person feels they have no control over their life or care and
can’t see that anything will get better. They feel they can’t change the way people act
towards them or treat them.

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Support Services
Organisations normally do not have all the necessary services to support a client’s
individual holistic health and well-being needs. Therefore, you would need to work in
partnership with other support services and professionals outside of the
organisation. The support services and professionals may visit the person, or you are
to support theclientto access these services. You must work within the organisation’s
policy and procedures in relation to supporting a client to accessing services.
There are many support services that provide help for people to promote and
maintain their health and well-being. These services include:
 Doctors
 Allied health professionals
 Employment services
 Disability services
 Relationships services
 Dementia services
 Housing services
 Drug and alcohol services
 Community access
 Culture groups
 Health and beauty services
 Hospitals

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2.3 Stages of Human Development
Erik Erikson, a psychologist and psychoanalyst,has defined the life stages of human
development according to psychosocial development.
Life Stages Psychosocial Development
Infancy Trust versus Mistrust. Children are

completely dependent on others during
(0-1 year)
the first stage of life.
Early childhood Autonomyversus Shame and

Doubt. Children’s growing self-control
(1-3 years)
is expressed by climbing, touching,
exploring, and a general desire to do
things for themselves.
Preschool age Initiative versus Guilt. The child

moves from simple self-control to an
(3-5 years)
ability to take initiative. Learns through
play to plan, and to undertake and carry
out a task.
School-age Industry versus Inferiority. In

school, children begin to learn skills
(5-12 years)
valued by society, and success or failure
can have lasting effects on their feelings
of adequacy.
Adolescence Identity versus Role Confusion.

Mental and physical maturation brings to
(12-18 years)
the individual new feelings, a new body,
and new attitudes.
Early adulthood Intimacy versus Isolation. Individual

experiences a need to achieve an
(18-40 years)
essential quality of intimacy in his or her
life. After establishing a stable identity, a
person is prepared to share meaningful
love or deep friendship with others.

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Adulthood Generativity versus Stagnation.
According to Erikson, an interest in
(40-65 years)
guiding the next generation is the main
source of balance in mature adulthood.
This quality, called generativity, is
expressed by caring about oneself, one’s
children, and the future.
Maturity Integrityversus Despair. Because old

age is a time of reflection, a person must
(65 years +)
be able to look back over the events of a
lifetime with a sense of acceptance and
satisfaction. According to Erikson, the
previous seven (7) stages of life become
the basis for successful ageing. The
person who has lived richly and
responsibly develops a sense of integrity.
This allows the person to face ageing and
death with dignity.
The aspects of an individual’s well-being must be considered in order to identify their

needs and how to support them better. The following aspects include:
 Physical - Being physically healthy and having a healthy body that enables one
to deal with the challenges of everyday life, fight off illnesses and function
well.
 Psychological - Absence of a mental illness. It is the ‘psychological state of
someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and
behavioural adjustment’.
 Social - Social health involves the ability to form satisfying interpersonal
relationships with others. It also relates to the ability to adapt comfortably to
different social situations and act appropriately in a variety of settings.
 Spiritual - Being able to meet one’s needs to realise and freely express one’s
faith, values, beliefs, principles, and morals.
 Cultural - Being able to participate in cultural activities, and the freedom to
retain, interpret and express their arts, history, heritage, and traditions.
 Financial - A state of being wherein a person can fully meet current and on-
going financial obligations, can feel secure in their financial future, and is able
to make choices that allow them to enjoy life.
 Career/Professional - A state of wholeness that results from bringing into
balance life, work, people, and money.
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The following issues can impact the health and well-being of older individuals:
1. Age
2. Family history
3. Illnesses
4. Living conditions
5. Lifestyle/health-related habits (smoking, alcohol, poor diet leading to obesity
or malnutrition, lack of exercise, etc.)
2.4 Physical Needs

These are the most basic of requirements fundamental to survival no matter what the
age of the person is: food, drink, shelter, sleep, and treatment of illness and injury.
When providing care for the elderly, this is the area that most caregivers focus on.
Providing these basics, especially with the focus on health for the frail and disabled,
takes the bulk of a caregiver’s time and energy.
These basic or essential needs are necessary to preserve human life and to promote
well-being. We will focus on the need for warmth, exercise, and food and drink.
Warmth as a physical need

Maintaining a healthy body temperature is important to our well-being and this
automatic body process of temperature regulation, known as homeostasis, controls
temperature effectively.
The normal core body temperature is 37.0 degrees Celsius. The body regulates the
temperature when exposed to a warm or cold environment. Body temperature is
controlled by the hypothalamus, which has its processing centre in the brain. It
triggers changes in the sweat glands and muscles to control body hair.
Click this link to see how what happens in the body during changes in temperature.
The skin and temperature control
The normal core body temperature

does not change much with ageing.
The body, however, finds it harder to
control its temperature as one gets
older. A decrease in the amount of fat
below the skin makes it harder to stay
warm.
The body’s ability to sweat also
decreases with ageing. Elderly clients
may have difficulty telling when they
are becoming overheated. This puts
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them at high risk of overheating (heat stroke). They are also at risk for dangerous
drops in temperature when exposed to a very cold environment (hypothermia).
As an individual support worker, you can support a client to
maintain a comfortable body temperature by:
 Support the client to choose appropriate clothing in
warm and cold weather
 Support the client to maintain a comfortable
environmental temperature, e.g. use air conditioning, open
windows, if required, and sit in the shade while outdoors.
 Heat loss makes us feel cold and shivery, so we put on

extra warm clothes and take hot drinks.
 When we are too hot, we begin to go red and sweat.
We take off extra clothes and take cold drinks to help
us cool down.

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Temperature regulation in young babies and older adults isn’t so efficient. Their body
systems are slower to respond, and they can be vulnerable to sudden changes in
temperature. Extremes of hot and cold temperatures can result in ill health and even
death. That is why individual support workers should take action to prevent
individuals from harm if there is a summer heatwave or during cold winter weather.
Actions that individual support workers can take include:
 Provide air conditioners for people
 Assist people to put on or remove clothing
 Open or close windows
 Provide shade
 Adjust heating in the room
 Ensure adequate fluid intake
Remember that you should not just do these things without explaining
your actions and asking permission from the client.
Food and drink as a physical need

We need a balanced diet to be healthy. This includes eating a variety of foods from
the five (5) food groups. The groups are:
1. Vegetables and legumes

2. Fruits
3. Bread and cereals
4. Lean meat, fish, and legumes
5. Milk, cheese, and yoghurt
The person may require an
assessment by a nutritionist to meet their individualised needs, e.g. they may require
a special (diabetes) diet.
As an individual support worker, you can support a person’s nutrition needs by
assisting them with their meals and supporting them to make healthy choices as per
their care plan. It is important to be aware of the client’s cultural dietary
requirements.
Water

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Our body needs water to maintain healthy body systems. The average adult human
body is made up of about 50-65% water.
The body regulates fluid and electrolyte composition through the kidneys by
controlling the volume and composition of urine. Electrolytes are substances in the
human body that have an electric charge. Some of the examples of electrolytes in the
body are:
 Sodium
 Calcium
 Potassium
 Magnesium
 Chlorine
 Phosphate
Blood, urine, and body fluids have electrolytes.
Electrolytes in the body need to maintain their balance
in order for the cells and organs to function normally.
Electrolyte imbalance can cause dehydration or
overhydration.
During hot weather, it is important that a person maintains adequate fluid intake to
prevent dehydration. Overhydration is caused by drinking too much water to quench
excessive thirst. It can also be caused by illnesses such as liver disease and kidney
problems.
The kidney is one of the major organs in which specific structural and functional
phenotypic changes occur with ageing. The elderly are able to maintain water and
electrolyte balance under normal conditions. Illness, a decline in cognitive ability,
and certain medications can pose a risk to this balance.
As an individual support worker, you can support a client to maintain their fluid
needs by maintaining an adequate fluid intake as per their care plan.

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Sleep
To help maintain healthy body systems our body (adult) requires about 7.5 hours of
sleep.
As an individual support worker, you can support a client’s sleep by assisting them
with their daily exercise routine as per their care plan, and to support them to
maintain their sleep and rest routine.
Exercise
Regular exercise should be a part of any daily plan for a person. It helps with
circulation, maintaining weight, muscle mass and joint flexibility, blood glucose
levels and promoting a sense of well-being.
The person may require an assessment by a physiotherapist and/or occupational
therapist to meet their individualised needs regarding physical exercise. To support
the healthy functioning of the body, it is recommended that adults aged 65 years and
above (with the advice of a health professional), perform the following amount of
physical activity:
 At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity
physical activity (e.g. brisk walking,
ballroom dancing, tennis (doubles), general
gardening) throughout the week, or
o At least 75 minutes of vigorous-
intensity physical activity (e.g. race
walking, jogging, or running;
swimming laps, aerobic dancing,
heavy gardening) throughout the
week, or
o an equivalent combination of
moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.
 For additional health benefits, they should increase moderate-intensity
physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or equivalent.
 Those with poor mobility should perform physical activity (e.g.
walking) to enhance balance and prevent falls, three or more days per
week.
 Muscle-strengthening activities (e.g. lifting weights and stair climbing)
should be done involving major muscle groups, two or more days a
week.
(Source: World Health Organisation)

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Clients who have the physical capability are encouraged to perform active exercises
to maintain an active lifestyle. Those clients who have physical limitations to perform
active exercise can also maintain an active lifestyle through passive exercises, such as
the Range of Motion (ROM) exercise. ROM exercises are great for clients with
disability or clients such as stroke survivors, who are left with mild to severe
paralysation, or paresis. These exercises can help prevent muscle stiffness and
spasticity – a common post-stroke side effect which limits coordination and muscle
movement. Along with prevention, passive ROM exercises can also be used to treat
spasticity.
Read about the different examples of ROM

exercises and how to perform them from
this link: Range of Motion Exercises
As an individual support worker, you can support a client’s physical health by

assisting them with their daily exercise routine as per their care plan and supporting
as much independence as practical while maintaining your duty of care.
Hygiene
Maintaining hygiene routines helps to keep the skin healthy and can reduce the risk
of infection.
As an individual support worker, you can support a person’s hygiene needs by
assisting them with personal care needs as per their care plan to promote comfort
and cleanliness.

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Activity
Access and read the blue link below. Discuss how much of each food group is
recommended every day.
Australia Government Department of Health and Ageing
Food for health
The important thing is that our diet is suitable for our needs. A person’s age, stage of
development, physical and mental well-being, and environmental circumstances can
all have an impact on their needs. In terms of food and drink, you will know that a
newborn baby has different needs from an adult. Babies need milk while growing
children and adults need a varied and balanced diet. Infants and some adults may
need to be pureed or easy to swallow food. We also may need other foods depending
on our culture or religion. For example, pork isn’t eaten by people of Muslim or
Jewish faiths.
In some circumstances, people have health conditions where it is essential to have a
suitable diet. For example, a person with diabetes must be careful about sugar in
their diet. Individual support workers have an important role to play in helping to
support people with their dietary needs. This includes assisting people with their
meals, encouraging people to make the right choices and following the care plan.
Sometimes, what we eat can be influenced by our mental and physical health;
whether we feel like eating or we are too sick to eat. Food is also influenced by our
economic and social conditions; that is to say, what we can afford and where we live.
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Exercise
Regular exercise should be a part of any daily plan for a person. Exercise aids in
keeping joints flexible, maintaining muscle mass, controlling blood glucose levels
and weight, and promote a sense of well-being. Walking, swimming, golfing,
housekeeping, gardening etc. are all considered exercise. Ideally, exercise should be
at least 30 minutes a day. Exercise could also be 10 minutes of an activity of choice
three times a day. The person may require an assessment by a physiotherapist, e.g. if
the person has a mobility disability.
Gentle exercise and a balanced nutritional diet are essential for good health. Support
clients to do activities designed to stimulate the mind and body. Encourage and
support opportunities to develop interests they can look forward to. This helps to
maintain a client’s own identity and enjoyment in life.
As anindividual support worker, you can support a client’s physical health by
assisting them with their daily exercise routine as per their care plan, and supporting
as much independence as possible.
Activity
Access the link below and discuss how to get started with physical activity.
Physical Activity – How to get started

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Safety
Risk management is the term given to the systematic identification of hazards, the
assessment of risks posed by the hazards, and the control of those risks, either by
eliminating the hazard entirely or by minimising the risk.
Managing risk is proactive in that it tries to prevent injury from occurring by dealing
with hazards before they can cause any harm. It also applies to future as well as
current arrangements. Whenever changes to the workplace are proposed or
whenever new information on work processes comes to light, the risks to health and
safety must be identified and managed. It is an approach that is used widely in WHS
law. Risk management includes dealing with such things as infection control, injury
from falls, and fire safety.
In recognising risks and hazards, it is important to document

and report them in line with the organisation’s policy and
procedures.
When providing support to a client in their home, it is important to assess the home
environment and become aware of any modifications or improvements which might
assist the client in remaining safe in their environment.
In-house hazards could be:
 Trip hazards such as old carpet which is fraying at the seams.
 Appliances that need to be serviced, e.g. worn power cords.
 Inadequate lighting, this can be a risk factor, particularly for a client with a
vision impairment.
 Inadequate fire safety measures.
 Inadequate security. Does the house have lockable screen doors and windows
in asatisfactory condition? Is there an alarm system installed and/or does the
client have an independent personal alarm?

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Activity
List five (5) things which you can do to maintain your health and well-being.

Page 77
2.5 Social and Recreational Needs
Self-actualisation is the desire for self-fulfilment. This is the motivation to realise
one’s own maximum potential and possibilities. With all the experience of life and
maturity, the elderly often find themselves evaluating their lives if they have reached
self-actualisation. The process of ageing often becomes a challenge for our elders to
reach higher levels of self-actualisation, self-esteem and social connection, leaving
today’s ageing confined to the lower levels of survival.
Person-centred active support and strength-based approaches are ways support care
is designed to support the client’s self-actualisation.
Humans have a social need to have conversations with others and experience a
variety of social relationships. Some people need a wide circle of friends and
acquaintances, while others may only need a select few. Human beings, however, do
not do very well when isolated from another human contact. Thus, the need for good
social relationships is important.
Individual differences usually include physical characteristics, personality,
motivation, intelligence, ability, interests, etc. As a whole, these attributes make up
the person. An individual is not defined by physical characteristics alone.
Persons respond differently to different scenarios, conditions, approaches, etc. One
of the main highlights of a person-centred approach is to address these differences
and develop care plans that will best fit the individual differences of each client.
A psychological needis defined as a condition where something is required or
wanted. This gives the person purpose and direction to act towards what they want
or require. The most widely known models of psychological needs is proposed by
Albert Maslow’s paper called ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’. His paper proposed
that there is a hierarchy of needs related to identity and purpose, and persons
progress slowly from achieving their basic psychological needs to attaining self-
actualisation.
Social contact and recreation are vital to general health and well-being of all people.
Life without the warmth and pleasure which comes with contact with others and the
pursuit of favourite past times can become very dreary and mundane. This may lead
to depression with subsequent loss of motivation, loss of appetite, insomnia, and
other negative side effects.
Our basic sense of belonging is derived from relationships with others. A network of
kin, friends, and acquaintances can sustain a person’s well-being and give life
meaning.
The maintenance of primary and secondary relationships within one’s own
generation becomes more difficult with age. Cohorts die or age at such variable rates
that they may be unable to provide the intimate exchange of earlier years. Networks
are less available to an individual and relationships may also be difficult to develop
and maintain for people with a disability due to such things such as mobility and
communication issues.
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Engagement in society is vital to the quality of a person’s life. Changes to social
networks affect physical and emotional well-being. So, it is important to maintain
them even if there is a change in the person’s environment.
Social networks include:
 Family groups
 Support groups
 Direct neighbourhood or local community
 Workgroups
 Sports and other recreation groups
 Groups (e.g. youth or senior citizens)
 Community centres (e.g. clubs, church groups)
We are social beings, and social contact and recreation are vital to good health and
well-being.
Social networks can include:
 People in social, church, cultural, sports and recreational groups.
 Family groups.
 People living in the neighbourhood
or local community.
As an individual support worker, you can

support a client’s social needs by supporting
them to maintain contact with family and
friends, as well as community access as per
their care plan.
Source:montrealcbtpsychologist.com
Residential Support Facilities

Residential support facilities usually offer a variety of social and recreational
activities. Activities are most often arranged five days per week (Monday to Friday)
with individual activities on Saturday and/or Sunday in some facilities. These
activities are not compulsory but are arranged for the enjoyment of the client if they
should feel like joining in. They include a wide range of activities from in-house
individual activities and events, through to taking residents out to community events
and activities. Transport is usually by way of a hired community bus if the facility
does not have its own transport but may also be public transport or taxi.

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Most facilities and organisations offer a friendly interaction between other
residential support facilities such as invitations extended to attend barbecues or
when special entertainment has been arranged.
Hairdressers visit most facilities on a regular basis and newspapers are delivered
daily. Massage, aromatherapy and other natural therapies are also used and
encouraged.
The local libraries visit most facilities and some organisations. They have their own
extensive library of large print books, audio cassettes, CDs, DVDs, videos and talking
books.
Residents of support facilities are encouraged to achieve a maximum degree of
independence as a valuable member of society. The organisations encourage
community groups to come to the facility and provide community contact for all the
residents, and they take residents on outings to community events as much as
possible.
Social interaction promotes emotional health and maintenance of cognitive function.
So, if a resident has a weak or non-existent social network, they should be
encouraged to attend social and recreational activities. Even in a caring, comfortable
environment, residents can still be at risk of social isolation so, an effort might have
to be made by staff to introduce residents to one another.
When residents are attending social and recreational activities outside the
organisation or a social activity within the organisation such as a cultural event,
wherever possible, members of their present social network should be included. This
can help to maintain current relationships. Ensure this is what the client wishes and
if it is within the policy guidelines of the organisation.
Residents and people with a disability can also be supported to maintain social
networks by sending cards, letters and making phone calls, email, virtual cards,
mobile phone text messages (SMS) and instant messaging (IM).

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Community Participation for People with a Disability
When working with a client with a disability, staff need to assist the client to identify
their strengths, interests, abilities and support requirements so they can assist them
to engage with a social network.
Using a strengths-based practice focuses on the client’s strengths. That is focusing on
what a client can do rather on what they cannot do. It also encourages a client to
learn new strengths that help the client to realise their personal goals and/or to
become more independent. The purpose of a strengths-based support is the active
involvement of client in resolving their problems and recognition of the client’s skills
and competence
Staff should engage the client in identifying an appropriate social network and to
clarify what support the client needs to engage in the social network actively.
 Identify the interests of the client.
 Build on the strengths and skills of the client.
 Identify associations and networks of individuals that share the client’s
interests.
 Learn about the neighbourhood.
 Provide equipment/resources required to participate.
Staff should support the client to identify and acknowledge their interests. This can
be achieved through providing information and questioning and exploration through
discussion. Information must be provided by way of the client’s preferred
communication method. For example, DVDs, videos, pictures, Braille, signing when
speaking, interpreters, or other technical aids might assist with the communication
process.

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Information about and support for community access may include:
 Information about venues, support services, locations, and transport.
 Information about and support with required resources that will best suit
client’s interest and needs.
 Information about and support to access appropriate support networks that
can assist with successful inclusion/integration in community activities.
 Information and support with equipment such as mobility supports and
technology that will contribute to the ability to interact as desired to maximise
successful interaction.
 Information about and support with emotional, psychological and medical
requirements that will contribute to the ability to interact as desired to
maximise successful interaction.
 Information about and support with risk and safety procedures that will be
developed to account for specific needs.
People who receive adequate information and explanation will find themselves in a
position where they can make decisions about their own lives. This will
increase/enhance:
 Their self-esteem and feelings of self-worth.
 Independence and empowerment due to opportunities to make their own
choices.
 Skills development, e.g. learning and practising the emotional, cognitive,
social, and behavioural skills to participate successfully in these opportunities.
 Personal independence and enjoyment of active participation.
 Possible sense of adventure and accomplishment.
 Feelings of control.
For inclusion in a community to work most effectively, the client must be seen as an
individual. To facilitate this:
 Involve the client in any discussions.
 Show your own respect through your actions and speech.
 Gently encourage community members to engage with the client you support
rather than you.
 Become a ‘regular,’ e.g. visit the same coffee shop at the same time on the
same day of the week.
 Encourage the client to talk about themselves and their experiences.
 Use the client’s name often.

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Case Study
Tom was recently involved in a serious car accident, and after months of medical treatment
he is out of hospital and trying to rebuild his life. However, as a result of his extensive
injuries, he is unable to return to his job and he is feeling lonely and bored. Tom was a self-
employed builder and he is interested in model cars and tennis.
1. As anindividual support worker, how would you go about confirming the

person’s social and recreational preferences?
2. Give an example of how a worker might identify Tom’s social network
3. How might you encourage and facilitate Tom to attend social and recreational
activities that promote the development of social networks?
4. What type of networks might Tom be supported to identify as meaningful, and
how might he be assisted to identify and engage in them?
5. What might Tom’s strengths be and how could these strengths be used to
assist him in engaging in social networks?

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2.6 Emotional Needs
When we talk about emotions, we are thinking about feelings. As people, we
experience a range of emotions including happiness, excitement, sadness, and
anxiety.
Emotional needs are concerned with the way we feel about ourselves. We all need to
feel good about ourselves (although we do not always experience this). In addition,
we need to be able to deal with our emotions (such as sadness, joy, anger, frustration
etc.) in a positive way.
Emotional needs include the need for love, security, and confidence. If we have love,
security and confidence, then we are able to develop the ability to express our
feelings and to have our feelings recognised.
Prolonged negative emotions along with ineffective coping mechanisms have an
impact on general health and well-being. Emotional concerns must be reported to
the supervisor and may include such things as prolonged sadness, distress, anxiety or
depression; lack of engagement; or heightened level of emotional expression.
The following are indicators of emotional concerns and issues:
 Sadness
 Fatigue
 Abandoning or losing interest in hobbies or other pleasurable pastimes
 Social withdrawal and isolation (reluctance to be with friends, engage in
activities, or leave home)
 Weight loss or loss of appetite
 Sleep disturbances (difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, oversleeping, or
daytime sleepiness)
 Loss of self-worth (worries about being a burden, feelings of worthlessness,
self-loathing)
 Increased use of alcohol or other drugs
 Fixation on death; suicidal thoughts or attempts
 Unexplained or aggravated aches and pains
 Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness
 Anxiety and worries
 Memory problems
 Lack of motivation and energy
 Unexplained or aggravated aches and pains
 Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness
 Anxiety and worries
 Memory problems
 Lack of motivation and energy

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Emotions are about feelings. If a person has negative emotions over a long period
and their coping mechanisms are ineffective, their general health and well-being can
be affected.
Emotional concerns must be reported to the supervisor and may include such things
as distress, sadness, anxiety, lack of engagement (particularly in enjoyable activities),
low self-worth, self-harm, behaviours of concern and long periods of stress. The
client may require a medical review.
‘Stress is defined as an organism’s total response to an environmental

condition or stimulus, also known as a stressor. Stress typically describes
a negative condition that can have an impact on an
organism’s mental and physical well-being.’
- Wikipedia, Stress
As an individual support worker, you can support a person’s emotional needs by

supporting them as per their care plan to maintain their holistic care needs.
Exercising, maintaining a healthy diet, drinking alcohol within the healthy limits,
resting and maintaining a support system (e.g. family), all help to maintain a client’s
feeling of well-being.
There are a number of actions that you can take to help support someone
emotionally. These can include:
 Greeting the person by their name when you see them.
 Showing respect, being courteous and sensitive.
 Showing empathy.
 Showing genuine interest.
 Finding out about the person’s preferences (likes and dislikes).
 Recognising the person’s efforts and achievements.
 Providing care that is culturally sensitive.
 Using effective communication and active listening skills.

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Stress
Stress can be caused by a number of factors. Lifestyle experiences can have a
dramatic impact on the stress experienced in everyday life. Emotional distress is
something we all feel at some time, and it affects us all differently. The most
commonly talked about emotional distress is probably external pressures rather than
internal ones.
Most types of emotional stress result in some form of aphysical symptom such as
sweaty palms, shortness of breath, tensing of muscles. As the episode passes, a
person usually trembles as they relax. Other forms of emotional distress come from
within, like fear, guilt, anxiety, and loneliness.
These affect the person’s personality in different ways that vary from being
withdrawn to outbursts of anger. If allowed to perpetuate, the person is invariably
powerless to initiate change and may ultimately give up or become embittered,
resulting in poor quality of life.
Regular exercise, good nutrition combined with a low-fat diet, adequate rest,
effective time management, interactions with positive support systems and humour
are examples of habits that can positively affect physical and mental health.
Regular Exercise
A regular exercise program improves muscle tone and posture, controls weight,
reduces tension and promotes relaxation. In addition, exercise reduces the risk of
cardiovascular disease and improves cardiopulmonary functioning. Exercise
programs are effective in decreasing the severity of stress-related conditions such as
hypertension, obesity, tension headaches, fatigue, mental exhaustion, irritability, and
depression. Exercise also promotes therelease of endogenous opioids that create a
feeling of well-being.
Nutrition and Diet

Nutrition and exercise are closely related. Food provides the fuel for activity and
exercise which improves circulation and the delivery of nutrients to the body tissue.
People need to be aware of the nutritional quality of food. Too much fat, caffeine, salt
or sugar can upset the body’s metabolic functioning. Deficiencies in vitamins,
minerals and nutrients can also cause metabolic problems. Poor dietary habits can
worsen a stress response and make a person irritable, hyperactive, and anxious.

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Rest
Sleep not only refreshes the body but also helps a person become mentally relaxed.
Support Systems
A support system of family, friends and colleagues, who will listen and offer advice
and emotional support, is beneficial to a person who is experiencing stress.
Enhancing Self-Esteem
Improvement in a person’s self-esteem can help in stress-reduction strategies. When
a person identifies their positive characteristics, it helps them see resources that can
be drawn upon to cope with the stressor.
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is your opinion of yourself. High self-esteem is a good opinion of
yourself, and low self-esteem is a bad opinion of yourself.
If you have a high level of self-esteem, you will be confident, happy, highly motivated
and have the right attitude to succeed.
Self-esteem is crucial and is a cornerstone of a positive attitude towards living. It is
very important because it affects how you think, act and even how you relate to other
people. It affects your potential to be successful. Low self-esteem means poor
confidence, and that also causes negative thoughts which mean that you are likely to
give up easily rather than face challenges. In addition, it has a direct bearing on your
happiness and well-being.

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People mirror others. If they are surrounded by positive expectations and attitudes,
they will respond in the same way. The positive outlook boosts a person’s self-esteem
and confidence, strengthening their sense of identity and of feeling valued. Personal
identity is what makes the person unique and different to others, even in the same
family. It is the way you see or define such things as your characteristics, looks, and
behaviour. This, in turn, helps maintain or even improve skill levels and abilities. If a
person is receiving only neutral or negative messages, the reverse is possible and can
lead to disastrous consequences.
Some examples of times when we feel good about ourselves are:
 When someone recognises us
 When someone uses our name
 When someone talks to us as an equal
 When someone tells us that we look nice
 When someone respects and accommodates our culture and beliefs
 When your accomplishments are recognised
 When someone seeks your opinion
 When we make positive comparisons to others
Activity
Access and read the link below. Discuss five (5) ways to build self-esteem.
Self-esteem

Page 88
Meeting Emotional Needs
As anindividual support worker, there are a number of actions that you can take to
support someone emotionally.
Some of the things you can do are to:
 Find out their name and what they like to be called
 Greet them when you see them
 Listen effectively
 Respond with empathy
 Show an interest
 Find out about their preferences (likes and dislikes)
 Support choices
 Recognise a client’s efforts and achievements
 Be reliable so that the client is able to trust you
All people should expect to receive their care in a non-discriminatory, equally

accessible and culturally sensitive way. All people should be respected and responded
to by individual support workers in a manner that is courteous and sensitive.
To treat someone with dignity means to interact in a way which is respectful, and
which promotes the person’s own feelings of self-worth. This can occur in many
different ways:
 Respect – Shown to you as a human being and as an individual by others and
demonstrated as a courtesy, good communication, and taking time.
 Privacy – In terms of personal space; modesty and privacy in personal care;
and confidentiality of treatment and personal information. Protecting a
client’s dignity and privacy during personal care activities include closing
doors or drawing curtains to prevent the client being directly seen by others
(including other individual support workers) and respecting the client’s
personal belongings
 Self- esteem, self-worth, identity, and a sense of oneself - Promoted
by all the elements of dignity but also by ‘all the little things’ - a clean and
respectable appearance, pleasant environments, choice, and being listened to.
 Autonomy – Including freedom to act and freedom to decide, based on
opportunities to participate, and clear, comprehensive information

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If you identify variations in the client’s behaviour and condition you must
report it to the supervisor.
Routine
Maintaining a daily routine can support a client’s feeling of comfort because they
know what is going to happen next. It is important to support a client with
maintaining their own formatted routine. Some clients’ conditions, such as Autism,
would benefit greatly from routine. When the routine is changed, it can cause a
disturbance to the client’swell-being. Therefore, is important to follow the
client’scare plan which outlines their daily routine. Some people require time to
prepare and process information about an activity, therefore, let them know well in
advance and provide reminders.
Activity
In the box below, write down your daily routine. Even when you do shift work,
maintaining some degree of routine will help maintain your health and well-being,
e.g. having meals at regular times.

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2.7 Cultural and Spiritual Needs
Spiritual needs
An individual’s spiritual needs are not as easy to identify as their physical needs. This
is often because they are abstract, complex and more difficult to measure. These
needs have in many instances been given less priority because they are not as obvious
and not as easy to recognise and, as such, are likely to go unnoticed.
Spiritual goes beyond physical and psychosocial dimensions and has the capacity to
relate to a higher being. Some people may feel spirituality is an inner awareness
which enables a person to explore their core essence and deepest values of the
meaning of life.
If we are to identify spiritual needs and provide people with spiritual support, it is
first necessary to have some understanding of the nature of spirituality and how it
may be expressed by different individuals.
Within Australian society, you will come into contact with a diversity of cultures,
philosophies and religious traditions. Add to this those individuals who have no
clearly defined philosophies or beliefs.
Complete support is given if individual support workers are sensitive to the cultural
influences on a client’s behaviour. People from the same culture usually share similar
values, customs, clothing, and food preferences. Spirituality is the part of a person
that gives a sense of wholeness by fulfilling the human need to feel connected with
the world and to a power greater than self. Spirituality and religion are products of
the individual’s cultural background and experience. Spiritual values form the
guiding principles that people may use to determine right or wrong. A person’s
spiritual feelings play an important part in helping him or her through crises and
stress periods. Spiritual feelings are personal and are expressed in different ways.

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A person can express themselves spiritually and culturally through such things as
dance, art, music, names, symbols, stories, clothing, attending ceremonies and being
part of a religious group. People must be supported to express their culture and
spirituality freely.
Clients must be able to express their unique spirituality in an open and non-
judgemental environment by helping them to maintain important practices, beliefs,
and networks.
Cultural needs
We are all a product of our cultural environment. Our culture is about the day-to-day
aspects of the society in which we live, i.e. the language (or dialect) which we speak,
the type of clothes we wear, the roles we undertake, the sort of music we listen to, the
religious practices we carry out, the sort of entertainment we engage with etc. Our
culture is a huge part of who we are and therefore represents an important aspect of
needs.
Clients need access to culturally appropriate care that acknowledges and respects the
integrity of each person. Culturally appropriate health and personal care is person-
centred care that supports anindividual’s cultural, linguistic and spiritual needs.
A working knowledge of major cultural and religious beliefs in respect to health and
illness, suffering and death, customs, ceremonies, cleanliness/hygiene rules and food
laws would be of benefit to the individual support worker. However, it is always
important to identify individual needs and preferences and not assume that all
people who speak the same language practice the same religion, or that all people
following the same religion practice the same rituals or share the same beliefs.

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Suitable areas within the service are required to meet the client’s ceremonial needs at
appropriate times. Provisions for assistance from appropriate cultural groups are
also required on the best strategies to meet their needs. Opportunity must be
available for aninterested person to participate in activities and ceremonies.
Addressing cultural diversity across all integrated support services will assist you to
maintain the comfort and dignity of client’s in a culturally appropriate manner that
respects and values the uniqueness of each person.
1. Describe an example of ceremonial needs for at least one

culture different from yours.
2. Describe the ceremonial need in your own culture.
Our culture is a huge part of who we are. Culture is the language we speak, the type
of clothes we wear, the roles we have, the music we listen to, our religious practices
and the entertainment we engage with.
Culturally appropriate support assists clients to express their needs in an open and
non-judgemental environment and by helping them to maintain important practices,
beliefs, and networks.
As an individual support worker, you can support a client’s cultural needs by
supporting them as per their care plan to meet their cultural and spiritual needs.
Support can include such things as assisting a person to get ready to attend church,
wear appropriate clothing, have food, and listen to music of choice that has cultural
and spiritual relevance.

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Safety
We all have the right to feel safe and be free from abuse and neglect.
It is the requirement by law to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect to your
superior or another appropriate staff member whose role is to handle reports of that
nature. Always follow your organisation’s policy and procedure in relation to
reporting suspected cases of abuse and neglect
As an individual support worker, you can help to maintain a healthy and safe
environment by documenting and reporting risks/hazards and following WHS policy
and procedures.
If you notice changes in the client’s health and/or well-being, always

document your observations and report to the supervisor.
Communication
Effective communication is difficult at the best of times. When we interact with
people from different cultures, effective communication becomes even more difficult.
People from different cultures see, interpret and act upon messages differently. Our
verbal communication may be misinterpreted if we do not attempt to relate it directly
to individuals and their cultural background. Equally important is the need for
people to realise that non-verbal communication such as gestures, dress and body
language may be viewed in a different way by people from other cultures. The
following examples demonstrate how cultural differences affect communication.
Members of some cultures laugh or smile when someone is angry with them. They
are not only saving face for themselves but also for the angry person. Others just
smile a lot more than Australians even when sad or worried. On the other hand,
some Europeans smile less than Australians.
Holding hands with members of the same sex but not with members of the opposite
sex is common in some countries. In some places, it is very offensive to touch
another person on the head because it is the most sacred part of the body. It is
equally offensive to touch another person with one’s foot since the feet are the lowest
part of the body.

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Eye contact is viewed differently across cultures. For Australians with an Anglo-
Saxon heritage, it is considered respectful to maintain direct eye contact. Aboriginal
and Japanese people consider it disrespectful to look directly at another person’s
eyes.
In many Middle Eastern cultures, it is common for both men and women to
exaggerate their emotional responses. In Australia and the United States, people are
more likely to suppress their emotions. In Japan, people may even try to hide or
mask certain emotions.
Differences between cultures can easily cause communication misunderstandings.
Developing a greater understanding and sensitivity to cultural differences can
increase the effectiveness of communication with people from different cultures.
Multicultural services and resources

There are multicultural services that help migrants and refugee communities to
connect, provide support for one another and provide information. These services
include community non-profit organisations in the local community to State
government multicultural services. They provide a range of support from providing
information for seniors to advocacy for people with a disability. Each State has a
website where people can access information about services and organisations.

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Community Support
Government of South Australia
http://www.sa.gov.au/subject/community+support
NSW Community Organisations

Community Relations Commission for a multicultural NSW
http://www.crc.nsw.gov.au/communities/NSW_Community_Organisations
Migrant and multicultural services

Tasmania online, your comprehensive guide to Tasmania on the web
http://www.tas.gov.au/tasmaniaonline/browse/Social+and+community+services/Migra
nt+and+multicultural+services/
Multicultural Directory
Northern Territory Government
http://www.dcm.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/44633/multicultural_directory_
contacts.pdf
Multicultural Resource Directory

Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural Affairs
http://www.multicultural.qld.gov.au/multicultural/resources/multicultural-resource-
directory/search-the-multicultural-resource-directory
Community Directory
Victoria multicultural commission
http://www.multicultural.vic.gov.au/resources/community-directory
Directory of services for new arrivals in Western Australia

Office of Multicultural Interests, Department of Local Government
http://www.omi.wa.gov.au/omi_msd.cfm
Activity
Follow one of the links from above and find a multicultural service. In your own
words, describe what services the organisation provides.

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2.8 Sexuality
Sexuality is a complex need that relates to how a person feels. It covers their feelings,
thoughts and beliefs about their gender, physical and emotional needs and
relationships with other people. Sexuality is a lifelong characteristic that defines the
maleness or femaleness of each person. This definition may be different for each
person. All individuals are sexual beings and can give an embellished meaning to life.
Sexuality is often defined simply in terms of sex, but sexuality encompasses many
different aspects of our lives beyond just sex alone. Sexuality is determined in part by
our genetics and in part by the social expression of our underlining ancestry and
interaction with others. Three (3) common ways in which sexuality has been
described are in terms of sexual behaviour, sexual orientation, and sexual identity.
Sexual identity is a descriptor used to refer to a collection of traits associated with an
individual in terms of how they perceive themselves sexually. A person’s health
condition can affect their sexual identity, particularly if they have had body changes
such as removal of a breast because of breast cancer, orhad a stoma bag, catheter,
incontinence, etc.
Of course, the two greatest influencing factors on sexuality throughout history have
been culture and religion. Culture is one of the central ways human beings define and
express themselves including in terms of how we develop sexually. Cross-culturally,
sexuality means different things and the expression of sexuality has different
restrictions (or none at all) depending on where you go and who you talk to.
Generally speaking, culture carries the most weight in sanctioning the expression,
suppression, misuse and even loving gesture of sexuality.
Despite what some people might think, religion’s influence on sexuality is not about
restrictions. Instead, religion acts as a means by which sexuality can be channelled
for the purposes of expression and even celebration. Although different religious
doctrines propose a diversity of mandates when it comes to the ways in which
sexuality should be channelled, most religions produce specifications on the basis of
marital status, sex and one’s personal spiritual growth.
Need for sexual intimacy does not end in ageing. Despite physical, emotional and
psychological challenges, most aged clientsshare the need to perform and enjoy
sexual activities and share healthy sexual relationships.

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Myths and stereotyping
Stereotype is a conception, negative or positive about a group of people. The belief
may not reflect what is actually true. Myth is a belief that has not been proven to be
true.
Our society and the community can define sexuality as youth, beauty and physical
agility. In applying this definition, older adults and people with a disability may not
be considered sexual beings. Attitudes toward sexuality have generated devaluing
reactions from society regarding older adults and people with a disability. These
attitudes can affect the person’s self-esteem and well-being.
Stereotyping encourages certain attitudes or perceptions to a select group. The group
may start to develop ‘self-fulfilling prophecies’, where if they are told of it often
enough, they start to believe it is true and they will act the way they are depicted.
This can affect the person’s health and well-being. Older people are often not
included in decision-making situations because it is assumed that they cannot make
logical/practical decisions on their own. As a result, their right to make choices are
not realised.
Some do not bother to teach older people new skills/knowledge because it is assumed
that they are incapable of learning new things. As a result, older people feel
discriminated, isolated, and/or left behind.
The truth is human beings are fortunately never too old to enjoy a happy and healthy
sex life. Despite this good news many people, young and old alike, are astounded at
the idea of people remaining sexually active in their sixties, seventies, eighties and
beyond. It is frequently assumed that older adults lose their sexual desires or that
they are physically unable to perform. Yet, for the older adult, the ability to remain
sexually active is a major concern in their lives. Fear about the loss of sexual prowess
in older males is common. Older women also express sexual desire but may fear their
interest is undignified and disgraceful. Some older adults may even freely accept
their interests in sex, but their children or grandchildren may disapprove, making
them feel guilty. Some other examples of myths and stereotypes of ageing :
 Sickness and disability come with old age
 Older people cannot learn and are weak and helpless
 Old people have no interest in or capacity for sexual activity
 Old people are boring forgetful, grouchy, and cantankerous
 The majority of older people are set in their ways, unable to change

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Supporting sexuality and choice
Individual support workers can support a person’s sexual needs by supporting them
to express their sexuality through choice and independence. This may include
choosing how they would like to dress to express their sexual identity, who they
would like to develop a healthy relationship with and supporting them to maintain
privacy when required. All people have the right to meet their sexual needs in privacy
and with dignity.
There are support and professional services available for people to help them meet
their sexual needs and they include:
 Private organisations that provide counselling and education for people with a
disability.
 Family planning centres hold educational resources and books about
sexuality. Family planning also conducts sexual health promotion activities
and offer clinical services.
Some of the other issues surrounding sexuality and sexual expression include the
following:
 Time-related factors:
o Delay in arousal, with greater need for genital stimulation
o Reduced penile rigidity and vaginal lubrication
o Loss of the sensation of ejaculatory inevitability
o Increasing anorgasmia
 Medical Factors
o Drugs which can cause impotence or lack of libido
o Diseases (such as diabetes mellitus) which lead to impotence
o Surgery of the prostate or uterus
o Physical barriers (such as catheters or pessaries)
o Poor mobility due to arthritis or stroke
o Change of body image (e.g. after mastectomy or limb amputation)
o Depression, leading to loss of interest in sex
 Psychosocial factors
o Having no partner
o Lack of privacy (e.g. in nursing and residential homes)
o Social conditioning

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Family Planning NSW
http://www.fpnsw.org.au/index_about.html
Family Planning Queensland

http://www.fpq.com.au/
Family Planning, Sexual Health Services, Western Australia

http://www.fpwa.org.au/
Family Planning Victoria

http://www.fpv.org.au/
Family Planning Tasmania

http://fpt.asn.au/
Family Planning, Welfare Association of Northern Territory

http://www.fpwnt.com.au/
Family Planning, Sexual health, South Australia

http://www.shinesa.org.au/go/our-services/clinics/clinics
Activity
Access the blue link below. Discuss the different resources available for people
with disability.
Family Planning NSW

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People with dementia and people with a disability may express their sexuality in a
way that can have a negative impact on others. As an individual support worker, you
have a duty of care to ensure others are safe and follow the client’s care plan which
outlines behaviour support strategies. Other strategies to consider are:
 Consider what may be causing the behaviour, e.g. wanting to go to the toilet.
 Redirect the client to another activity
 Discourage the behaviour in a gentle manner and focus on the client, not the
behaviour.
Values
Every individual has their own personal beliefs, values and attitudes which they
bring with them to their working environment. Values are the standards or principles
which we think are important in our lives. Our values also include what we believe in,
and what we consider to be right and wrong. Attitudes are feelings or emotions that
we have toward a particular fact or statement. For most people, the attitude that they
have towards something is a reflection of the values that they hold.
Values and attitudes are specific to each individual just as no two people are the
same. What is important to one person is not necessarily the same to someone else.
Our personal values and attitudes are not stagnant but are ever evolving. What we
may believe to be important as a teenager is not always going to be the same when we
are in our 40s.
With knowledge, there may also be a change in your attitude to something. With
knowledge, there comes understanding and in most cases clarity. This understanding
enables us to accept why certain things have happened, and with acceptance, we are
then able to change our attitudes.
Take the time before you have to deal with people with a disability to think about
your own feelings, beliefs, values and attitudes. If you feel that there is something
that you will not be able to accept, you will need to question whether this is the right
career path for you. Talk to others around you and listen to their point of view, they
may be able to enlighten you on why something is a specific way and possibly change
your attitude.
Our behaviour is in most cases a reflection of our attitudes and feelings. The old
adage ‘actions speak louder than words’ is very true. Be aware of your body language;
this will speak volumes to the people that you are supporting. As anindividual
support worker, you have a responsibility to ensure that your behaviour and the
attitude that you display is of a positive nature.

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2.9 Comfort and Safety
Comfort is about maintaining a client’s feeling of psychological and physical calm.
This can be supported by:
 Alleviating pain
 Being around familiar things such as objects, food, and faces (e.g. family)
 Freedom from abuse
 Feeling safe
 Physical comfort such as comfortable bed, body temperature, shoes, and
clothing
Below are items that can support a client’s comfort and safety.
Comfort and safety Items
 Communication book
Communication aids and appliances: to  Chat books

assist a client to express themselves, make  Pictures and symbols
choices, and interact with others.
 Electronic communication
device
 Pads
 Disposable continence pads
Hygiene continence aids: to assist the
client with the management of continence to  Uridomes
maintain dignity and personal hygiene.  Kylie Sheets
 Waterproof Sheets
 Pressure care cushion

Pressure injury* prevention: to reduce
 Sheepskins: for skin protection
pressure injuries and ensure physical
and comfort
comfort.
 Pressure relief mattresses
 Eggshell and underlays
Personal sleeping equipment: to assist  Electrically operated hi/low

the client’s sleep and ensure physical comfort bed
and safety.  Bed cradle or bed rails
 Posturepedic mattresses

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 Prescribed seating system
Personal care seating and positioning  Specialised car seats

aids: to assist the client’s comfort and  Reclining, raised or ejector
posture support whilst awake. chairs
 Tilt tables
Personal care nutrition, feeding  Specialised cutlery, eating

andeating: to assist the client to maintain devices
adequate nutrition by the provision of
drinking and eating.  Food and thickeners
 Specially made shoes for

Mobility/personal care orthotic people who are unable to wear
appliances: to assist the client’s ‘off the shelf’ shoes
independence to use their limbs with  Other orthotic aids, e.g.
appropriate support. braces, ankle foot orthotic
(AFO), splints, cervical collars
 Railings for thebedroom,

bathroom, showers, and access
areas
Railings and ramps: to ensure the  Ramps for access from outside
immediate safety and protection of people in and inside thehouse
the external and internal environment.  Railings for recreation or
outdoor areas
 Program or reactive
maintenance for repairs
 Bath seat
Bathing aids: to assist clientto maintain  Shower chairs
dignity, safety, hygiene and independence
when bathing or drying.  Hand showers
 Grab rails
 Air-conditioner
Temperature: to reduce discomfort due to  Bathroom heater
feeling hot or cold  Warm or cool clothing of
choice

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A pressure injury (also known aspressure ulcers, pressure sores, bed sores, and
decubitus ulcers) is defined as an area of injury to theskin and/or underlying tissue,
usually over a bony prominence (e.g. heel or sacrum) caused by friction, shear, or
prolonged pressure. Pressure injuries are preventable.
Some risk factors include unrelieved pressure, friction and shear, moisture, poor
nutrition and hydration, and pain. With respect to avoiding unrelieved pressure, staff
should turn and reposition the client as per the care plan. This could be every two
hours or more often if necessary. Other interventions include using pressure injury
prevention aids and equipment.
Personal hygiene is also important to maintaining cleanliness. It is important to
follow the person’s care plan in relation to providing individualised hygiene needs.
Personal hygiene includes oral health. To maintain oral health, it is important to
support the client to maintain oral care routines, visit the dentist, good nutrition and
hydration. Some people may have dentures and do require regular dental review to
ensure their dentures fit comfortably and they maintain good oral health.
Emotional and physical pain

Pain can take on many forms and for many reasons. It can be actual physical pain
from illness or injury, or it could be emotional pain from memories, fear, the loss of
possessions or loved one, loneliness and of being alone, isolation, and declining
health.
Physical pain can be managed and to some extent controlled with therapy and
medications. Emotional pain can be managed and controlled by counselling and
therapy.
If this pain is emotional in origin and the person is showing signs of stress, then a
change in therapy may well be required. Pain here may be expressed by way of lack of
appetite, lack of sleep, anger, irrational thoughts and actions and expressions of grief
and frustration.
If you have any concerns, you must notify your supervisors.

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Abuse
To be safe is to be free from danger. These dangers can include war, famine, disease,
natural disasters, violence, and abuse. Fortunately, in Australia, we do not experience
war and famine. However, we do know something about disease, violence, and abuse.
Some types of abuse are:
 Financial - When money and/or possessions are taken away from a person
either by force, manipulation or emotional blackmail. When forced to change
their will.
 Emotional - When a person’s wishes are disregarded. When they are
threatened by emotional blackmail.
 Physical - When a person is hit, restrained or punched;leaving a person in
pain, in wet clothes or bed linen and not giving the person enough food or
drink.
It is the requirement by law to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect.
Organisations have a legal obligation to report allegations or incidents of assault. If
you observe any assault towards a client by any person, staff or family member, you
have a duty of care to report the incident to your superior or another appropriate
staff member.
All facilities and services must have a policy and procedure in place to report assault
and abuse. They must also protect the identity of the informant and protect them
against victimisation.
If we provide a safe environment, the client can feel secure, and their confidence and
self-esteem will rise.

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Signs or indicators that abuse may be occurring:
Physical Indicators Behavioural Indicators
Physical Abuse
Facial, head and neck bruising or injuries. Explanation inconsistent with the injury;
explanation varies.
Drowsiness, vomiting, fits (associated with
head injuries). Avoidance or fearfulness of a particular person.
Unexplained or poorly explained accidents Sleep disturbance (e.g. nightmares;
or injuries such as broken bones, sprains, bedwetting).
punctures.
Changes in behaviour, e.g. out of character
Other bruising and marks may suggest the aggression; withdrawal; excessive compliance.
shape of the object that caused it.
Over or under-use of sedation.
Unexplained fractures, dislocations,
Fear or anxiety.
sprains.
Pain or restricted movement.
Unexplained bruises, bite marks, cuts,
burns, scratches.
Physical Neglect
Hunger, thirst or lot of weight loss. Requesting, begging, scavenging or stealing

food
Poor hygiene.
Constant fatigue, listlessness or falling asleep.
Poor hair texture.
Direct or indirect disclosure.
Inappropriate or inadequate clothing for
the weather conditions. Extreme longing for company.
Inappropriate or inadequate shelter or Social isolation.
accommodation.
Anxiety about being alone or abandoned.
Health problems have worsened due to
Displaying inappropriate or excessive self-
their medications being mismanaged
comforting behaviours.
Health or dietary practices that endanger
health or development.
Unexplained conditions such as
hypothermia, dehydration or pressure
sores

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Sexual Abuse
Direct or indirect disclosure. Repeat use of words, e.g. ‘bad’, ‘dirty’.

Sexual act described by the person. Self-destructive behaviour, self-mutilation.
Trauma including bleeding around Sudden changes in behaviour or temperament,
genitals, chest, rectum or mouth. e.g., depression, anxiety attacks (crying,
sweating, trembling), withdrawal, agitation,
Difficulty in walking or sitting.
anger, violence, absconding, seeking comfort
Internal injuries (tears or bruising), pain or and security.
itching to genitalia, anus or perineal region.
Inappropriate advances to others.
Torn, stained or bloodstained underwear or
Sleep disturbances, refusing to go to bed, going
bedclothes.
to bed fully clothed.
Unexplained sexually transmitted
Eating disorders.
infections (STIs).
Refusing to shower or constant showering.
Unexplained accumulation of money or
gifts. Changes in social patterns, refusing to attend
usual places (work, respite).
Recent incontinence.
Anxiety when near, or contact suggested with
the abuser.
Psychological or Emotional Abuse
Speech disorders. Feelings of worthlessness about life and self;

extremely low self-esteem self-abuse or self-
Weight loss or gain.
destructive behaviour.
Extreme attention seeking behaviour and
other behavioural disorders (e.g.
disruptiveness, aggressiveness, bullying).
Excessive compliance.
Depression, withdrawal, crying.
Low mood.
Confusion.
Loneliness.
Feeling of helplessness.
Fear.

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Financial Abuse
Restricted access to, or no control over Stealing from others.

personal funds or bank accounts.
Borrowing money.
No records or incomplete records kept of
Begging.
expenditure and purchases.
Fear, stress, and anxiety.
Missing money, valuables or property.
Forced changes to wills or other legal
documents.
Inability to find the money for basics such
as food, clothing, transport costs and bills.
Large withdrawals or big changes in
banking habits or activities.
Property transfers when the person is no
longer able to manage their own financial
affairs.
Activity
Access the link below. List ten (10) things that enhance a person’s well-being.
Well-being

Page 108
2.10 Requirements for Good Health
The following are the basic requirements for good health of individuals:
Mental health
Many adults lose their ability to live independently because of limited
mobility, chronic pain, frailty or other mental or physical problems, and
require some form of long-term care. In addition, ageing or disabled people
are more likely to experience events such as bereavement and a drop in
socioeconomic status with retirement. All of these factors can result in
isolation, loss of independence, loneliness and psychological distress.
Depression is commonly experienced by ageing or disabled individuals.
Depression has the following risk and protective factors:
Risk factors Protective factors
Health problems The more active the clients

are—physically, mentally, and
Loneliness and isolation
socially—the better they’ll feel:
Reduced sense of purpose
Exercise
Fears
Connect with others
Recent bereavements
Get enough sleep
Maintain healthy diet
Participate in activities
Dementia is a common mental health issue experienced by older people.

Dementia has the following risk and protective factors:
Risk factors Protective factors
Main risk factors: Diet

Age Physical activities
Family history and heredity Intellectual activities
Other risk factors:
Alcohol use, atherosclerosis,
diabetes, hypertension,
smoking, etc.

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Nutrition and hydration
Older individuals and people with disability go through many physical
changes that also come with changing nutrition and hydration requirements.
Certain conditions associated with ageing or some disabilities require specific
dietary restrictions which may affect the older individual’s nutrition and
hydration.
Exercise
Being physically active helps a person stay strong and fit enough to keep doing
the things they like to do. Exercise is also known to be good for mental health.
Starting or maintaining a regular exercise routine can be a challenge. They
may feel discouraged by illness, on-going health problems, or concerns about
injuries or falls.
Hygiene
Keeping clients clean is essential for good health. Poor hygiene can cause skin
complaints and infections and be a source of discomfort and low self-esteem.
Hygiene is an issue that many caregivers have to deal with. Some clients
refuse to take a shower or bathe, change their clothes, brush their teeth or
clean their house -- all of which result in bad hygiene.
Lifestyle
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential to clients. It helps protect them
from diseases, helps them fight diseases, and helps prevent chronic diseases
from getting worse. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle helps the client’s holistic
(mental and emotional) health and well-being.
Oral health
Maintaining good oral health habits is important for clients because unhealthy
bacteria in the mouth not only can harm the teeth and gums but may be
associated with serious medical conditions. Poor oral health may also affect
the client’s eating habits and nutrition.

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2.11 Support for Older and Disabled People
Aside from the service provider providing care and support, there are resources
available on Aged Support and Services for the elderly in Australia.
Read more about these from these

links:
My Aged Care
Department of Social Services-
Ageing and Aged Care
The following are examples of support services funded by the Commonwealth that
directly or indirectly help and support the aged and disabled population:
 Home and community care services
 Financial counselling
 Health promotion programs
 Rehabilitation services
 Retirement assistance for farmers
 Advocacy services
 Support for consumer organisations
 A range of information related to government programs
The following are examples of non-government sector associations and organisations

that provide a large range of services and support:
 Advocare
 Aged and Community Services Australia
 Aged Care Network
 ARPA Over 50s Association
 Carers Australia
 Centre for Education and Research on Ageing
 Council on the Ageing Australia (COTA)
 National Ageing Research Institute
 National Seniors Association

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CHAPTER 3: HEALTHY BODY SYSTEMS
3.1 Human Cells, Tissues, and Organs
All living things, including humans, are made up of cells. The cell is the basic unit of
all living things. Its basic functions include metabolism and reproduction. There are
trillions of cells in our body. They group together to form tissues, which carry out a
particular task in an organism. A group of tissues form organs, which perform
specific functions in the human body. Body systems are comprised of organs, e.g. the
respiratory system.
There are different types of cells with various functions, and they include:
 Transport - Small intestine tissue cells pick up molecules that have been
digested in the digestive tract and transport them to other cells in the body in
the circulatory system. The cells in the body use molecules for cell
metabolism.
 Storage - Adipose cells store fat.
 Communication - Neurones communicate with one another to send messages
from one organ to another.
 Movement – Muscle cells contain protein filaments, these filaments slide past
each other, and this shortens the muscles (contraction) which result in
movement.
‘Metabolism refers to all the chemical processes going on continuously

inside the body that allow life and normal functioning (maintaining
normal functioning in the body is called homeostasis). These processes
include those that breakdown nutrients from our food and those that
build and repair our body’- Better Health Channel

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Below is an example of cell metabolism:
Aerobic respiration(cellular respiration) – is a process whereby oxygen and

glucose are used to produce energy in cells for them to carry out their function.
Glucose is from the food we eat and oxygen is from the air we breathe. The by-
products of this process are water and carbon dioxide. We breatheout carbon
dioxide, and excess water is removed via the kidneys.
C6H12O6 (glucose) + 602 (oxygen) 6CO2 (carbon dioxide)+ 6H2O(water) + ATP(energy)
Anaerobic glycolysis– when a limited amount of oxygen is available (e.g. during

intense exercise), glucose is processed, and energy is produced through the anaerobic
glycolysis system. Lactic acid is the main by-product of this system (lactic acid causes
the burning sensation in your muscles).

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3.2 Respiratory System
The respiratory system involves the inhalation of atmospheric air into the lungs via
the nose and mouth. In the lungs, oxygen is brought in the blood through inhalation,
and carbon dioxide is brought out through exhalation.
The Respiratory System
Air is breathed in through the nose and into the lungs through the following process:
 Air is breathed in through the nose where it is warmed, humidified and dust is
trapped.
 Air then travels down the trachea and into the right and left bronchi and into
the right and left lungs.
 Oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide in the alveoli.
 Capillaries surrounding the alveoli sac is where oxygen is exchanged for
carbon dioxide.
The diaphragm is a muscle that helps with breathing. When this muscle contracts,
air is drawn into the lungs (inhalation) and when it relaxes air is expelled
(exhalation). Intercostal muscles help with respiration by lifting the rib cage for
inhalation and relaxing for exhalation.

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Activity
Watch the video about the respiratory system by clicking on the link below. Explain
how oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged in the alveoli sac.
YouTube
Respiration-Ventilation 3D Medical Animation*advertisement may be present
prior to the video
3.3 Cardiovascular System

The cardiovascular system consists of the heart and blood vessels. The functions of
the cardiovascular system include:
 Transports oxygen, blood cells, water and nutrients around the body to cells.
 Picking up waste and transporting them to organs to be removed

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Plasmais the liquid component of blood which carries blood cells, nutrients, and
antibodies. The blood cells include:
 Red blood cells carry oxygen and carbon dioxide.
 White blood cells (leukocytes) are part of the immune system.They can
produce antibodies and destroy bacteria. The white blood cells have different
types, including neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, and macrophages.
 Platelets (thrombocytes) form clots by binding together when there is damage
to the blood vessel. These clots prevent bleeding.
Blood is transported from the heart to the other parts of the body through the
cardiovascular or circulatory system in a process called blood circulation. It goes
through the following process:
 Blood (de-oxygenated) comes from the body to the heart via the inferior and
superior vena cava.
 Blood travels through the right atrium into the right ventricle and then to the
lungs via the pulmonary artery where carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen.
 Blood (oxygenated) comes back from the lungs via the pulmonary vein into the
left atrium and into the left ventricle.
 Blood leaves the heart via the aorta to the body.
 Oxygenated blood is delivered to cells in the body via arteries and then
capillaries.
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 Blood returns to the heart via capillaries and then veins to the inferior and
superior vena cava.
Blood pressure is the amount of pressure exerted on the walls of blood vessels as the
blood is pumped around the body. When the body senses the pressure in the walls of
the arteries, it sends signals to the heart, the arterioles, the veins, and the
kidneys,lowering or increasing the blood pressure.

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Activity
Watch the video about the cardiovascular system by clicking on the link below.
Briefly discuss the blood’s journey in this body system.
YouTube
Circulation*advertisement may be present prior to the video
*advertisement may be present prior to the video

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3.4 Musculoskeletal System
The musculoskeletal system is made up of two (2) body systems; the skeletal system
which givesits structure and provides the body with the right amount of blood cells,
and the muscular system which facilitates movement and locomotion.
The musculoskeletal system consists of bone, muscle, joints, cartilage, ligaments
(bind bone to bone), and tendons (bind muscle to bone).
It has the following functions:
 Supports the weight of the body
 Stores calcium
 Produces red blood cells in the bone marrow
 Protects organs
 Assists with movement – movement occurs when muscles contract
The Skeletal System

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The Musculoskeletal System
There are different muscle types, and these are:
 Skeletal muscle – Supports movement and are voluntary (meaning they are
moved with our conscious awareness).
 Cardiac muscle – Contracts and relax the heart to help pump blood around the
body and they are involuntary (meaning they function without conscious
awareness).
 Smooth muscles – Located in organs such as the intestine (peristalsis) and
blood vessels. They are involuntary (meaning they function without conscious
awareness).
When your body temperature is hot, blood vessels in your skin dilate (vasodilation –
smooth muscle relaxes). The blood is brought to the surface and heat is lost to help
you cool down. When body temperature is cold, blood vessels in your skin constrict
(vasoconstriction – smooth muscle contract). The blood is placed further away from
the surface of the skin and heat loss is reduced.

Page 120
Activity
Identify each bone from the picture on the next page. Colour the bones using the
guide below.
Sternum – dark
Humerus - black Radius - green
blue
Femur – yellow Tibia - orange Ribs - red
Ulna - brown Fibula - grey Lumber vertebrae - light blue
Cervical vertebrae – dark

Scapula - purple Cranium – pink
green

Page 121
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3.5 Endocrine System
The function of the endocrine system is to regulate growth, our moods, digestion,
metabolism, tissue function, and reproduction.
The Endocrine System
The endocrine system secretes hormones which aretransported to the organs via the
circulatory system. Below are glands, their hormones, and functions:
 Pituitary gland– is connected to the hypothalamus which is another gland that
oversees many functions in the body. The pituitary gland releases the
following hormones:
o Thyroid stimulation hormone – stimulates metabolism which is
chemical process within cells.
o Antidiuretic hormone – acts on the kidneys to stimulate the
reabsorption of water if there a reduction in blood volume. Therefore,
less water is excreted in the urine.

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o Oxytocin – facilitates contractions during childbirth.
o Prolactin – stimulates breast milk production.
o Endorphins - acts on the nervous system to produce a feeling of well-
being and analgesic effect.
 Thyroid gland– releases thyroxine, a hormone for homeostasis
(maintaining internal stability) and metabolism.
 Adrenal gland– makes the following:
o Adrenaline (epinephrine) – regulates HR, blood vessel diameter and
component of the ‘fight-or-flight.’
o Corticosteroids - has numerous roles, e.g. help us to manage stress,
regulates salt and water balance and reduces inflammation.
 Sexual glands– oestrogen(ovaries) and testosterone (testes) help to produce
gender characteristics.
 Pineal gland– produces melatonin (has an effect on reproduction and the
sleep-wake cycle), it works within our biological clock.
‘Biological clock affects the daily rhythm of many physiological processes’-
Wikipedia, Biological clock human
 Thymus– Thymosins nurture the lymphocytes (white blood cells).
 Pancreas – makes insulin (insulin is needed for glucose to enter cells and be
converted to energy).
The endocrine system works with the nervous system in complex ways. A simple
explanation is if you see a snake coming towards you the brain receives a visual
sensory signal which detects danger. A message is sent from the brain to the muscles
via the nervous system to run fast and get out of the way. For the fight-or-flight
response, the hypothalamus will send a signal to the adrenal gland which releases the
hormone adrenaline (epinephrine). This hormone will flow through the body to
different organs and initiate the following responses:
 Liver releases glucose for energy.
 Increase your breathing to increase oxygen intake.
 Increase your heart rate to send oxygen and glucose to your cells faster, e.g. for
muscle cells to use so you can fight or run faster.
 Vasoconstriction in the digestive area to reduce blood flow and vasodilation
where there are muscles for increased blood flow because this is the area that
requires oxygen and glucose the most.

Page 124
Activity
Watch the video about the flight-or-fight response by clicking on the link below.
Briefly explain how the endocrine system works together with the nervous
system.
YouTube
Fight or Flight Response*advertisement may be present prior to the video
3.6 Nervous System

The nervous system helps the body to communicate with its other parts by carrying
information from the brain to other parts of the body. The nervous system consists of
the:
 Central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
 Peripheral nervous systems (nerve cells (neurons) located outside the central
nervous system)

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The Nervous System
There are different types of neurons (nerve cells), and these include:
 Sensory neurons, e.g.
neurons in the skin which
detect temperature, pain
and pressure.
 Motor neurons which
stimulate the muscles.
 Interneurons which connect
all neurons.
There are billions of neurons (refer to diagram above) that connect to each other
and carry messages from one part of the body to another. Messages are
transported along the neurons by an electrical current. When it reaches the end of
the neuron, a message will jump across to the next neuron via neurotransmitters.
This occurs at lightning speed. An example of this process is, e.g. if you touch
something hot, your sensory neuron will be activated, and a message will go to
your central nervous system (where information is processed) and to the motor
neurons which will stimulate your arm muscles to remove your hand.

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The somatic system (or voluntary nervous system) sends sensory information
(e.g. touch, hearing, vision, smell etc.) to the central nervous system then a
message is sent to motor nerve fibres (e.g. to move muscles).
The autonomic system is responsible for involuntary action like breathing and
heart rate.
For example, our breathing rate is determined by central chemoreceptors which
are located in the medulla (brain). The chemoreceptors detect pH levels in the
blood. Increased carbon dioxide increases the pH of the blood. The response
sends nervous impulses to the diaphragm and intercostal muscles to increase
breathing.
Activity
Watch the brief video about the nervous system by clicking on the link below.
Explain how the nervous system works.
YouTube
Nervous system

Page 127
3.7 Digestive System
After we take food via the mouth to the stomach, our digestive system breaks food
down into simple forms, so they can be absorbed into the bloodstream via the
intestines. These simple forms become energy which is used by the body to aid in our
growth, for fuel and to repair.
The Digestive System
Digestion of food occurs through the following process:

 The food begins the breakdown process in the mouth by the grounding of food
by teeth and saliva (moistens and contains amylase).
 Food is then passed to the stomach via the oesophagus from muscular
contraction (peristalsis). The epiglottis is made up of cartilage. When a person
is swallowing food, it will fold backwards and cover the larynx, so food won’t
go into the lungs

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 In the stomach, food is churned and broken down further and mixed with
gastric acids (hydrochloric acid and pepsin).
 As the food passes through the duodenum and before it reaches the small
intestine, it is mixed with more digestive enzymes from the pancreas (lipase,
amylases and proteases), and bile from the liver.
 Nutrients and water are absorbed via the villi in the small intestine into the
bloodstream.
 The by-product of this process is passed through to the large intestine where it
is further broken down by bacteria. Water and some nutrients are absorbed
into the bloodstream.
 The indigestible substances are then eliminated via the anus.
Enzymes in the digestive system include:

 Hydrochloric acid and pepsin – help to break proteins into amino acids.
 Bile - helps to emulsify fats and fat-soluble vitamins.
 Lipase – helps to break fats into fatty acids.
 Amylases – helps to break carbohydrates (starch) into maltose.
 Maltase –helps to convert maltose to glucose.
 Protease – helps to break proteins into amino acids.
The liver is part of the digestive system, and it filters blood from the digestive tract to
remove toxins, break down medicine, produce bile, store glucose (as glycogen) for
energy, and store vitamin and minerals.

Page 129
Activity
Watch the video about the digestive system by clicking on the link below. List
the enzymes found in this system and briefly describe their functions.
YouTube
The digestive system - an animation
*advertisement may be present prior to the video*advertisement may be
present prior to the video

Page 130
3.8 Urinary and Excretory System
The urinary system is responsible for removing liquid waste from the blood to keep a
stable balance of salts and other substances in the blood. This is sometimes referred
to as the excretory system as they are made up of almost the same organs. Wastes are
eliminated from the body through the excretory system. It is made up of the lungs,
skin, liver, digestive organs, and kidneys. The excretory system is a passive biological
system that eliminates excess and unnecessary materials from the body. The process
of waste elimination involves the following process:
 The liver has a wide range of functions which includes detoxification, protein
synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion.
 The sweat glands of the skin secrete fluid waste called perspirationor sweat.
 The lungs diffuse gaseous wastes, such as carbon dioxide, from the
bloodstream as a normal part of respiration.
 The elimination of undigested food content and waste products is the final
process of digestion. After food passes through the small intestine, the
undigested food material enters the colon, where most of the water is
reabsorbed.

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The urinary system also eliminates wastes in a process called urination. One of the
primary organs involved in this process are the kidneys. The main functions of the
kidneys are to:
 Remove wastes- There are networks of filtering systems in the kidneys
called nephrons. Nephrons contain many capillaries. Blood passes through
these capillaries where wastes are removed. The wastes (urine) are stored in
the bladder until is it excreted. Wastes are the by-products of cellular
metabolism (e.g. urea which is the by-product of protein metabolism).
 Maintain homeostasis – Homeostasis is the body’s ability to maintain
balance in an environment despite the changes in its external environment.
The kidney regulates potassium, sodium, and calcium. It will excrete or
reabsorbed these body elements to maintain normal levels.
 Regulate PH level by excreting excess hydrogen ions (H+). Bicarbonate ions
are kept to act as PH buffers.
 The kidney absorbs and reabsorbs water to help maintain a healthy fluid
balance and blood pressure.
 Produce hormones
o Calcitriol - is released when there is a low level of calcium. This hormone
promotes reabsorption of calcium in the small intestine and the kidneys.
o Erythropoietin – when blood is filtered through the kidneys it detects the
red blood cells (RBC) level. If RBCs are low, the hormone Erythropoietin
stimulates the production of red blood cells.
o Renin – participates in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), e.g. if blood
pressure drops the RAS regulates blood pressure and fluid balance through
vasoconstriction and renal sodium retention.

Page 132
The Urinary System
Activity
Watch the video by clicking on the link below. Explain how the kidneys work.
YouTube
How Kidneys Work

Page 133
3.9 Reproductive System
The reproductive system plays an important role in the procreation of life.
The Male Reproductive System
The Female Reproductive System

Page 134
Women have an average menstrual cycle of about 28 days. The hormones that help
to regulate the menstrual cycle are:
 Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) – produced by the pituitary gland
and helps the egg to mature and get ready for release.
 Luteinizing hormone (LH)– produced by the pituitary gland and
stimulates ovulation (release of an egg from the ovary).
 Oestrogen – produced by the ovaries and thickens the endometrium
(lining of the womb).
 Progesterone - maintains the endometrium in case fertilisation occurs.
During mid-cycle, one of the menstrual cycles, the ovaries will release an egg. If the
egg is fertilised by a sperm, it will lodge into the womb (uterus) and will form a
zygote. The zygote (fertilised egg) then matures into a child.
If the egg remainsunfertilized, the production of oestrogen and progesterone levels
decreases. This causes the uterus lining to break down and menstruation to occur.
Testosterone is the principal male sex hormone and plays a part in the development
of male sex organs and secondary male characteristics such as increased muscle and
bone mass.
The female sex cell (egg) contains one X chromosome, and the male sex cell (sperm)
has either an X or Y chromosome. If the sperm (X) fertilises the egg, the zygote will
be female. If the sperm (Y) fertilises the egg, the zygote will be male. Both the egg and
sperm carry half the genetic material (23 human chromosomes).

Page 135
Activity
Watch the video about fertilisation by clicking on the link below. Explain how the
sperm fuses with the ova to form a zygote.
YouTube
Fertilization

Page 136
3.10 Integumentary System
The integumentary system is the largest organ of the body and consists of skin, hair,
nails, and exocrine glands. The skin is the first line of defence that protects the body
from infection. While the skin’s function is intended for protecting the external part
of the body, the mucous membranes act as apartial barrier against infection,
providing defence in the internal part of the body. Mucous membranes can be found
inside the eyelids, nose, mouth, lungs, and other parts of the body.
The skin has three (3)layers, and these are:
1. Epidermis – produces melanin which contributes to skin colour.
2. Dermis – contains nerve endings, hair follicles, sweat glands, sebaceous
glands and blood vessels.
3. Fat layer –a protective padding and insulates the body from cold and
hot.
The Integumentary System
The skin’s functions include:

 Protect the body from dehydration.
 Eliminate waste such as salts, water, urea, and lactic acid.
 Regulate the temperature by evaporation of sweat (when hot) and
vasodilation (when cold).
 Protect the body from infectious microorganisms.
 Production of vitamin D (Vitamin D is required for calcium
metabolism).
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 Contain receptor for sensation such things as pain, touch, pressure,
cold, and heat.
Sebaceous glands secrete sebum (protect the skin and help to prevent
the skin from drying and cracking).
 Hair follicles produce hair. Hair helps to regulate body temperature (in
the cold hair stands upright and traps air to be heated (goosebumps).
When it is hot the hair is extended flat, and this prevents air from being
trapped) with sensations and protection from sunrays and abrasion.
Activity
Watch the video about wound healing and explain the different phases of healing.
YouTube
Wound Healing process in human beings*advertisement may be present prior to
the video

Page 138
3.11 Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system transports fluid containing infection-fighting white blood cells,
throughout the body. There are lymphatic vessels throughout organs in the body with
lymph nodes located along the system. The lymphatic system removes excess
interstitial fluid and drains the fluid into the circulatory system, absorbs fats via the
villi in the small intestine and helps fight infection.
 Lymph vessels are located throughout the body, carry a clear straw-
coloured fluid (lymph) and white blood cells (lymphocytes).
 Lymph nodes are round, soft and are located throughout the body such
as the armpit, groin, and neck. They contain lymphocytes which filter
bacteria, cancer cells and other foreign substance from the body.
The Lymphatic System

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The lymphatic system includes:
 Tonsils – located at the back of your throat. They contain lymphatic tissue that
traps germs before they enter the breathing passage.
 Spleen – contains white blood cells (WBC), which destroys damaged and old
cells.
 Thymus – helps to produce WBC
 Bone marrow – produces RBC, WBC and platelets
The lymphatic system is a part of the immune system. The immune system provides
body protection from infections and diseases. It is acomplex network of cells, signals,
and organs that work together to help kill infection-causing germs.
Activity
Watch the video about the lymphatic system by clicking on the link below. Explain
how the system removes excess interstitial fluid.
YouTube
Lymphatic System
*advertisement may be present prior to the video*advertisement may be present
prior to the video

Page 140
3.12 Special Senses
The special senses include the functions of the organs such as the nose, tongue, eyes,
and ears. The following are the functions of these organs:
 Smell – The nose is the primary organ for smell. It also receives air to
help us breathe through inhalation. There are millions of olfactory
receptor neurons located in the mucous membrane on top of the nasal
cavity. These receptors detect different scents.
Some people have different conditions relating to their ability to smell:
o Hyposmia – the decreased ability to smell or detect odours.
o Anosmia – the person is unable to smell or detect odours.
Congenital anosmia is when a person has been born with a
complete loss of smell.
o Hyperosmia – the increased ability to smell or detect odours.
Nose Anatomy
Taste – The tongue is the organ of taste. It is vital for tasting, chewing,
swallowing food, as well as for speech. The receptors located on the
tongue detect a variety of tastes such as sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.
Some people have different conditions relating to their ability to taste:
o Hypogeusia – the decreased ability to taste.
o Ageusia – the person is unable to detect any taste. This is a rare
case as a person would most likely lose their sense of smell rather
than the sense of taste.
o Dysgeusia – the taste becomes distorted.

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Smell and Taste
1. What is your favourite scent? Your favourite taste?
2. How do you think it would affect a person if they lost their

sense of smell and their sense of taste?
 Sight is the ability of a person to see. The eye is the primary organ for
sight. It helps in receiving, focusing, and transmitting light that helps us
see. Seeing goes through the following process:
o Light passes through the cornea.
o Light then passes through the lens which focuses the light onto
the retina.
o The retina contains photo-receptors which convert the image into
electrochemical signals.
o The electrochemical signals are sent through the optic nerve to
the visual part of the brain.
Page 142
The tear system helps to maintain eye health by keeping it moist and washes
impurities away from the eye.
Eye Anatomy
Activity
Watch the video by clicking on the link below. Explain how the eye maintains eye
health.
YouTube
A Journey Through the Human Eye: How We See*advertisement may be present
prior to the video

Page 143
 Hearing is the ability of a person to perceive sound. The ear is the
primary organ for hearing. The ear receives sound waves from the
environment to help us hear. It also helps in maintaining balance.
Hearing includes the following process:
o Sound waves pass through the auditory canal to the eardrum
which causes the eardrum to vibrate.
o The vibration is picked up by three stirrup-shaped tiny bones
(malleus, incus, and stapes) and passes the vibrations to the
cochlea.
o The cochlea is filled with fluid and when the fluid vibrates
sensory cells create an electrical signal which is sent to the brain
via the auditory nerve.
Equilibrium – Fluid in the inner ear moves around when you are moving.
Nerves send messages to the brain about your position via the vestibular
nerve.
Hear, hear!
1. What are the possible causes of hearing loss?
2. How do you think it would affect a person if they lost their

sense of hearing?

Page 144
3.13 Systems Working Together
Below is an example of the body systems working together when you are exercising.
Nervous System
When the brain detects an
increase in carbon dioxide in
the blood, it will trigger the
respiratory system to increase
End of Document

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CHC33015 Certificate III in

Date Summary of modifications made Version

13 June 2016 Version 1 final produced for course launch. 1.0

Version 2.0 produced with the following modifications:

9 March 2018 Updated broken links. 2.2

Modifications include the following:

Learner Guide1 Version No. 2.3 Produced 27 April 2018

LEARNER GUIDE CLUSTER ........................................................... 4

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CHCCCS023 Support independence and well-being

CHCCCS015 Provide individualised support

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Additional Learning Support

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How to Get the Most Out of Your Learner Guide

Additional Research, Reading, and Note-Taking

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Stereotyping and Ageing

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You must familiarise yourself with your organisation’s policies and

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The Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) is a resource allocation instrument. It

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Read about these Standards from this link:

Home and Community Care

Read about these Standards from this link:

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 Dementia – It is amedical condition that is associated with a set of

 Hearing difficulties – Age-related hearing difficulties can usually be

Learner Guide1 Version No. 2.3 Produced 27 April 2018

Condition How to respond to the needs

 Schedule bathroom breaks.

 If the client finds verbal communication

 Face the hearing-impaired client directly

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In the context of individualised support planning and delivery of care service,

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The Care Plan

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Some additional reminders when completing the client’s progress notes:

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What to write in the progress notes:

 Entries must be factual, accurate and in a logical order.

Read about more tips for writing progress

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Consider the following process when writing incident reports:

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Active Support and Strength-Centred Practice

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Disability Sector Case Studies

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1.6 Privacy and Dignity

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