A qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural Australian residential aged care facilities
Abstract Background With increasing recognition of the quality and safety issues in residential aged care, there is an urgent need to better understand what skills senior managers require to deliver on the spectrum of leadership functions in residential aged care facilities. This qualitative study s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-05-01
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| Series: | BMC Health Services Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08049-4 |
| _version_ | 1818548726694674432 |
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| author | Nathan Dawes Stephanie M. Topp |
| author_facet | Nathan Dawes Stephanie M. Topp |
| author_sort | Nathan Dawes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background With increasing recognition of the quality and safety issues in residential aged care, there is an urgent need to better understand what skills senior managers require to deliver on the spectrum of leadership functions in residential aged care facilities. This qualitative study sought to explore the leadership skills that positively influence the quality of care within Australian residential aged care facilities and better understand the professional development needs of senior managers to positively influence care within these complex environments. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 senior managers purposively recruited from 14 high-performing non-government residential aged care facilities of varying geographical remoteness in northern Queensland, Australia. Participants held a range of professional roles, including Chief Executive Officer, Director of Nursing and Facility Manager, and had various professional qualifications. We used inductive thematic analysis to identify and categorise senior managers’ perspectives on the leadership skills and related strategies to promote quality of care. Results Senior managers reported leadership skills in five major domains: i) communication and relationship management, ii) stewardship, iii) professional development, iv) health care knowledge and v) information technology and finance. Most participants highlighted communication and relationship management skills and responding to regulatory change as influential to residential aged care quality performance. Participants with different professional backgrounds often emphasised different skills. Conclusions Participants identified a broad range of skills and strategies required by senior managers in Australian residential aged care facilities. Identifying different skills by differently trained individuals suggests more work is needed to understand and develop sector-specific professional development approaches to better prepare individuals to lead in this complex service environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T08:24:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-794b4a60b1f447d5bde370522472a427 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6963 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T08:24:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Health Services Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-794b4a60b1f447d5bde370522472a4272022-12-22T00:31:19ZengBMCBMC Health Services Research1472-69632022-05-0122111110.1186/s12913-022-08049-4A qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural Australian residential aged care facilitiesNathan Dawes0Stephanie M. Topp1Division of Tropical Health and Medicine, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook UniversityDivision of Tropical Health and Medicine, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook UniversityAbstract Background With increasing recognition of the quality and safety issues in residential aged care, there is an urgent need to better understand what skills senior managers require to deliver on the spectrum of leadership functions in residential aged care facilities. This qualitative study sought to explore the leadership skills that positively influence the quality of care within Australian residential aged care facilities and better understand the professional development needs of senior managers to positively influence care within these complex environments. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 senior managers purposively recruited from 14 high-performing non-government residential aged care facilities of varying geographical remoteness in northern Queensland, Australia. Participants held a range of professional roles, including Chief Executive Officer, Director of Nursing and Facility Manager, and had various professional qualifications. We used inductive thematic analysis to identify and categorise senior managers’ perspectives on the leadership skills and related strategies to promote quality of care. Results Senior managers reported leadership skills in five major domains: i) communication and relationship management, ii) stewardship, iii) professional development, iv) health care knowledge and v) information technology and finance. Most participants highlighted communication and relationship management skills and responding to regulatory change as influential to residential aged care quality performance. Participants with different professional backgrounds often emphasised different skills. Conclusions Participants identified a broad range of skills and strategies required by senior managers in Australian residential aged care facilities. Identifying different skills by differently trained individuals suggests more work is needed to understand and develop sector-specific professional development approaches to better prepare individuals to lead in this complex service environment.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08049-4LeadershipManagementSkillsQuality of careResidential aged care |
| spellingShingle | Nathan Dawes Stephanie M. Topp A qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural Australian residential aged care facilities BMC Health Services Research Leadership Management Skills Quality of care Residential aged care |
| title | A qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural Australian residential aged care facilities |
| title_full | A qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural Australian residential aged care facilities |
| title_fullStr | A qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural Australian residential aged care facilities |
| title_full_unstemmed | A qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural Australian residential aged care facilities |
| title_short | A qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural Australian residential aged care facilities |
| title_sort | qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural australian residential aged care facilities |
| topic | Leadership Management Skills Quality of care Residential aged care |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08049-4 |
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