Innovative learning conditions as a possible reply to elderly care challenges

Introduction 

The demands and complexities of elderly care in the Global North are rapidly increasing. Demographic projections indicate an aging population with multiple morbidities, leading to more varied and extended care needs.

The elderly care in municipalities in Norway and Denmark, serving as empirical fields in the research project LABCare, are significantly understaffed and unprepared to meet these demands. There is a lack of comprehensive knowledge on how the demands in municipal elderly care will necessitate revised and expanded knowledge and innovative learning conditions for the workforce.

Goals and Methods 

LABCare aims to explore how conditions for learning may be enhanced through collaborative arrangements between vocational education and municipal employees working in elderly care. Rooted in a cross-boundary conceptual framework, a multi-case study design is geared for both the vertical and horizontal dynamics of learning practices taking place across policy directives, municipalities, schools and problem solving in everyday practices.

Data will be collected by fieldwork and interviews with management, students, apprentices, teachers and workplace mentors in 6 Norwegian and Danish rural and urban municipalities and vocational schools. The outcome of the cross-analysis is a context-sensitive model for expansive learning environment in elderly care education and work, operationalized into desirable actions at both policy, organizational and everyday practice level.

Results 

The expected result is to gain new knowledge on ways to enhance collaborative and innovative learning conditions and workforce preparedness in the elderly care sector, and how to respond to the urgent need to attract and retain qualified elderly care staff.

Conclusions

The project will provide inspiration and suggestions for how learning between vocational education institutions and municipal employees can be structured to enhance learning conditions for healthcare workers within elderly care. This could better prepare licensed practical-, and registered nurses capable of meeting complex care needs.