Staff perceptions of families in rural residential aged care

: Objective – The aim of the project was to identify staff opinions of working with families rural in residential aged care. Method – Staff from 3 aged care facilities completed and returned a questionnaire on their opinion about working with families and family participation in aged care settings. Results – There was a 46.9% return rate, with 85% of staff reporting that families should be encouraged to participate in the care of their relatives. However, the findings also report 87% of staff perceived that family members were hostile without good reason and 76% report families were angry with aged care workers and undermined their treatment efforts. Conclusions – Family participation in aged care settings is essential for provision of person-centred care practices. The current negative perceptions of families expressed by rural aged care staff requires further research or at a minimum the use of a tool to monitor organisations performance in relations with families. Key Words Aged care, Family participation, Person-centred care, Residential care, Staff/Family relationships