As part of the Communication Plan the NET undertook to make available to projects a range of materials, such as: relevant workshop presentations; useful resources identified by projects and the NET; information bulletins, and details of protocols/guidelines and resources developed by projects. Such information was distributed to projects via the website and list server, which also provided opportunities for project officers to communicate directly with one another.
In addition to the nominated NET contact officer (described in Section 5.4.1 above) the communication systems established included:
A dedicated Care Planning list server
Information bulletins to provide useful project development information from the NET to all projects (see Table 8)
A dedicated and password protected communication forum, the ‘Care Planning Forum’ http://careplanning.informe.com/
A dedicated Care Planning web location on the CHSD website http://chsd.uow.edu.au/care_planning.html
5.5.1 List server
The list server was developed and used to promote information exchange and discussion between the NET, DoHA and each of the 33 projects. The list server proved a useful communication tool. Its main uses were for the NET team to correspond with all projects, for distribution of relevant information and resources to projects, and for project officers to ask questions and receive replies. There were 213 emails sent to the list server from its establishment in mid-December 2006 to the end of May 2009. As of the end of May 2009, this list server had 92 members. Feedback
regarding the list server, from site visits, exit interviews and also the list server itself, has all been positive.
Projects were supported to use the list server during the initial site visits, with NET demonstrating how to access and use the technology. The NET also posted items on the list server on behalf of project officers who continued to lack confidence. During exit interviews, project officers
commented that the list server was a great way to share information, and also that it created a sense of connectedness to the sub-program, and alleviated feelings of isolation. However, a small number of project officers indicated they did not use the list server, either due to continued
unfamiliarity with the technology (lack of computer skills), or a lack of time. Nonetheless, members that did not regularly use the list server found value in just following the discussions, reading comments or responding to relevant questions.
relating specifically to aged care, following a NET facilitated discussion group at the second national workshop. Although this list server had comparatively little traffic, with developments in aged care such as the introduction of the Aged Care Funding Instrument in March 2008, it has proved a useful mechanism for dialogue and discussion. There were 40 emails sent to the list server following its establishment in August 2007 to end of May 2009. As of the end of May 2009, this list server had 20 members.
Also, on the request of a number of project officers from NSW-based projects, an additional list server was established for NSW projects specifically. However, this list server was hardly used, with only four emails sent since it establishment in November 2008 to the end of May 2009. This underuse may have been due to timing, as most projects were getting close to completion at this stage. At the end of May 2009 this list server had 14 members.
5.5.2 Information bulletins
Information bulletins have been developed by the NET and distributed to all Care Planning projects, via email list server and also posted on the website:
(http://chsd.uow.edu.au/care_planning_resources.html) (Table 8).
During exit interviews, nearly all project officers indicated that they felt the information bulletins were a useful resource, providing concise and practical information. Project officers commented that they felt like the bulletins kept them on track and made them feel like part of a national program, with the bulletins often being referred back to. Two project officers said they did not read them due to time constraints. One suggestion was that the first bulletin should have been on project management, focusing on how to start a project and what tasks are needed to be done.
Table 8 Care Planning Information Bulletins
No. Title Date issued
- Care Planning - a guide to developing your evaluation plan and project progress reports 14 Dec 2006
1 Qualitative Research Methods 24Jan 2007
2 The Literature Review 24 Jan 2007
3 Workshop 2 Follow-Up 13 Aug 2007
4 Update from Care Planning NET 28 Nov 2007
5 Dissemination Update 21 Feb 2008
6 Update from Care Planning NET 23 April 2008
7 Workshop 3 Follow-Up 7 Oct 2008
8 Care Planning Stakeholder Survey – key results 23 Oct 2008 9 NET 4th Evaluation Progress Report Summary 3 Dec 2008 10 Care Planning Dissemination Update 9 Dec 2008 11 Care Planning: What now? What next? 2 March 2009
5.5.3 Forum
In 2007, the NET set up an online Care Planning Forum. During the sub-program it became apparent that this communication tool was under-used, possibly due to the effectiveness of the list server as a communication tool. After suggesting to projects the prospect of discontinuing this Forum, all of whom agreed, and receiving approval from DoHA, the Forum was shut down in August 2008.
5.5.4 Website
The NET provided continual support for the Care Planning website
(http://chsd.uow.edu.au/care_planning.html) for the duration of the sub-program. The CHSD hosted website was regularly updated with relevant documents, reports and resources for projects. The NET was active in placing resources on the website
(http://chsd.uow.edu.au/care_planning_resources.html), which assisted projects, as well as the palliative care sector more generally. These include: the evaluation progress reporting template, the final evaluation report template, the dissemination log, PCOC related clinical assessment tools, Care Planning Information Bulletins, and various other resources. Presentations from the three Care Planning National Workshops were made available, as was the Care Planning Third National
Workshop Report (Quinsey et al., 2008b). Furthermore, project summaries were also made
available (http://chsd.uow.edu.au/care_planning_summaries.html).
A count of web hits and document downloads from the Care Planning website was submitted in the second, third and fourth progress reports, which had showed high levels of usage. However, the reliability and accuracy of these statistics was later put into question due to technical problems with the web-based counting system used at the University of Wollongong. It was therefore decided not to include statistics in this report, but anecdotally, project officers have commented on the usefulness of the website and the resources provided therein. Fortunately, the University of Wollongong has recently changed to a new web-based counting system which will be able to provide much more accurate statistics in the future.
6 Impacts and outcomes of the Care Planning Sub-Program
This section discusses the impacts and outcomes of the interventions across the 33 Care Planning projects as described in their final evaluation reports and their exit interviews, and interpreted by the NET.
As discussed in Section 4.2.1, not all projects had the capacity to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of their project. In some cases, projects reported judgements about the efficacy of the projects which were not necessarily reflected in the data collected, or evidenced in the final report. This is likely because, as Hurteau et al (2009, p. 311) remind us, ‘conflicting claims regarding a program's quality, value, or importance often serve as strong indicators that stakeholders are using different standards for judgement.’ This was certainly true in a number of cases with the care planning projects where, in the absence of clearly defined evaluation criteria, methods and data, the project officers sometimes had different interpretations about the value or impact of their project than that of the NET.