“Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication”–a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment

Melinda Toomey; Helen Gurteen; Bronwyn Franco; Lana Wilson; Marianne Coleman; Najwan El-Saifi; Yuanyuan Gu; Chyrisse Heine; Lisa Keay; Sheela Kumaran; Sabrina Lenzen; Iracema Leroi; Carly J. Meyer; Leander Mitchell; Nancy A. Pachana; Emma Scanlan; Piers Dawes

doi:10.1080/09638288.2025.2523971

“Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication”–a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment

Melinda Toomey^*
, Helen Gurteen
, Bronwyn Franco
, Lana Wilson
, Marianne Coleman
, Najwan El-Saifi
, Yuanyuan Gu
, Chyrisse Heine
, Lisa Keay
, Sheela Kumaran
, Sabrina Lenzen
, Iracema Leroi
, Carly J. Meyer
, Leander Mitchell
, Nancy A. Pachana
, Emma Scanlan
, Piers Dawes

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

2 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Purpose: Older adults with hearing and/or vision impairment often face challenges in accessing appropriate support within home care services. This study investigated the hearing and/or vision support care needs of older Australians receiving home care, and assessed whether these needs were met.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 home care recipients (mean age 81.2 years, range 71–94) reporting hearing (n = 3), vision (n = 4) or dual sensory impairments (n = 6), and three family members. Interviews explored physical, psychological, and communication needs, healthcare system interactions, and support requirements. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis.

Results: Four themes were identified: (1) understanding individual circumstances is fundamental to personalised hearing and vision care, (2) importance of support networks, (3) enhancing device use and communication, and (4) maintaining home life and connection to community. Participants reported difficulties with device management, communication, and accessing appropriate care. The study revealed poor coordination between hearing/vision specialists and home care providers, alongside inadequate assessment and response to sensory needs within existing services.

Conclusions: Older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment have distinct practical and psychosocial support needs that are not consistently addressed in current home care services. Findings suggest the need for integrated sensory care assessments and improved coordination between hearing/vision professionals and home care providers.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	986-995
Number of pages	10
Journal	Disability and Rehabilitation
Volume	48
Issue number	4
Early online date	30 Jun 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2523971
Publication status	Published - Feb 2026

Bibliographical note

© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

cognitive impairment
dementia
hearing impairment
Support care needs
vision impairment

Access to Document

10.1080/09638288.2025.2523971Licence: CC BY

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 1.79 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Toomey, M., Gurteen, H., Franco, B., Wilson, L., Coleman, M., El-Saifi, N., Gu, Y., Heine, C., Keay, L., Kumaran, S., Lenzen, S., Leroi, I., Meyer, C. J., Mitchell, L., Pachana, N. A., Scanlan, E., & Dawes, P. (2026). “Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication”–a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment. Disability and Rehabilitation, 48(4), 986-995. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2523971

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abstract = "Purpose: Older adults with hearing and/or vision impairment often face challenges in accessing appropriate support within home care services. This study investigated the hearing and/or vision support care needs of older Australians receiving home care, and assessed whether these needs were met.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 home care recipients (mean age 81.2 years, range 71–94) reporting hearing (n = 3), vision (n = 4) or dual sensory impairments (n = 6), and three family members. Interviews explored physical, psychological, and communication needs, healthcare system interactions, and support requirements. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke{\textquoteright}s thematic analysis.Results: Four themes were identified: (1) understanding individual circumstances is fundamental to personalised hearing and vision care, (2) importance of support networks, (3) enhancing device use and communication, and (4) maintaining home life and connection to community. Participants reported difficulties with device management, communication, and accessing appropriate care. The study revealed poor coordination between hearing/vision specialists and home care providers, alongside inadequate assessment and response to sensory needs within existing services.Conclusions: Older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment have distinct practical and psychosocial support needs that are not consistently addressed in current home care services. Findings suggest the need for integrated sensory care assessments and improved coordination between hearing/vision professionals and home care providers.",

keywords = "cognitive impairment, dementia, hearing impairment, Support care needs, vision impairment",

author = "Melinda Toomey and Helen Gurteen and Bronwyn Franco and Lana Wilson and Marianne Coleman and Najwan El-Saifi and Yuanyuan Gu and Chyrisse Heine and Lisa Keay and Sheela Kumaran and Sabrina Lenzen and Iracema Leroi and Meyer, \{Carly J.\} and Leander Mitchell and Pachana, \{Nancy A.\} and Emma Scanlan and Piers Dawes",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor \& Francis Group. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.",

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Toomey, M, Gurteen, H, Franco, B, Wilson, L, Coleman, M, El-Saifi, N, Gu, Y, Heine, C, Keay, L, Kumaran, S, Lenzen, S, Leroi, I, Meyer, CJ, Mitchell, L, Pachana, NA, Scanlan, E & Dawes, P 2026, '“Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication”–a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment', Disability and Rehabilitation, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 986-995. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2523971

“Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication”–a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment. / Toomey, Melinda; Gurteen, Helen; Franco, Bronwyn et al.
In: Disability and Rehabilitation, Vol. 48, No. 4, 02.2026, p. 986-995.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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T1 - “Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication”–a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment

AU - Toomey, Melinda

AU - Gurteen, Helen

AU - Franco, Bronwyn

AU - Wilson, Lana

AU - Coleman, Marianne

AU - El-Saifi, Najwan

AU - Gu, Yuanyuan

AU - Heine, Chyrisse

AU - Keay, Lisa

AU - Kumaran, Sheela

AU - Lenzen, Sabrina

AU - Leroi, Iracema

AU - Meyer, Carly J.

AU - Mitchell, Leander

AU - Pachana, Nancy A.

AU - Scanlan, Emma

AU - Dawes, Piers

N1 - © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2026/2

Y1 - 2026/2

N2 - Purpose: Older adults with hearing and/or vision impairment often face challenges in accessing appropriate support within home care services. This study investigated the hearing and/or vision support care needs of older Australians receiving home care, and assessed whether these needs were met.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 home care recipients (mean age 81.2 years, range 71–94) reporting hearing (n = 3), vision (n = 4) or dual sensory impairments (n = 6), and three family members. Interviews explored physical, psychological, and communication needs, healthcare system interactions, and support requirements. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis.Results: Four themes were identified: (1) understanding individual circumstances is fundamental to personalised hearing and vision care, (2) importance of support networks, (3) enhancing device use and communication, and (4) maintaining home life and connection to community. Participants reported difficulties with device management, communication, and accessing appropriate care. The study revealed poor coordination between hearing/vision specialists and home care providers, alongside inadequate assessment and response to sensory needs within existing services.Conclusions: Older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment have distinct practical and psychosocial support needs that are not consistently addressed in current home care services. Findings suggest the need for integrated sensory care assessments and improved coordination between hearing/vision professionals and home care providers.

AB - Purpose: Older adults with hearing and/or vision impairment often face challenges in accessing appropriate support within home care services. This study investigated the hearing and/or vision support care needs of older Australians receiving home care, and assessed whether these needs were met.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 home care recipients (mean age 81.2 years, range 71–94) reporting hearing (n = 3), vision (n = 4) or dual sensory impairments (n = 6), and three family members. Interviews explored physical, psychological, and communication needs, healthcare system interactions, and support requirements. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis.Results: Four themes were identified: (1) understanding individual circumstances is fundamental to personalised hearing and vision care, (2) importance of support networks, (3) enhancing device use and communication, and (4) maintaining home life and connection to community. Participants reported difficulties with device management, communication, and accessing appropriate care. The study revealed poor coordination between hearing/vision specialists and home care providers, alongside inadequate assessment and response to sensory needs within existing services.Conclusions: Older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment have distinct practical and psychosocial support needs that are not consistently addressed in current home care services. Findings suggest the need for integrated sensory care assessments and improved coordination between hearing/vision professionals and home care providers.

KW - cognitive impairment

KW - dementia

KW - hearing impairment

KW - Support care needs

KW - vision impairment

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“Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication”–a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

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UQ led: Home hearing and vision care to improve quality of life for people with dementia and carers

Cite this

“Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication”–a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

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UQ led: Home hearing and vision care to improve quality of life for people with dementia and carers

Cite this