Developing and testing a competency framework to enhance hydration care for older people in care homes

Straughair, Collette; Hodgson, Philip; Gates, Jessica; Johnson, Amy; Pryor, Claire; Cook, Glenda

Abstract

Purpose
Evidence based hydration care for older people is essential to health and wellbeing. However, practices vary, leading to negative outcomes for older people, particularly in relation to increased incidence of morbidity and mortality. As a discrete work package situated within a larger study to enhance hydration care for older people in care homes, a hydration competency framework was developed to support an evidence-based approach to practice.

Approach
An overview of the literature informing hydration care was undertaken to establish best practice, resulting in the generation of a series of competency statements. Using a co-production approach, these statements were reviewed and assimilated into a hydration competency framework that was piloted across two care home sites. Revision and refinement of the framework was undertaken in response to feedback from the co-production group, until consensus was reached to agree the final iteration.

Findings
The hydration competency framework has three core domains relating to: understanding the individual daily hydration requirements of older people; assessing the individual daily hydration requirements of older people; implementing person centred care to maintain and monitor the daily hydration requirement needs of older people. Each domain is comprised of competency statements that reflect the current evidence base informing best practice for hydration care for older people.

Originality
The hydration competency framework provides an innovative tool that can be used to support care home staff to deliver evidence-based hydration practices and positively enhance care outcomes for older people.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 27, 2025
• Publication Date: Mar 4, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 28, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 28, 2025
• Journal: Working with Older People
• Print ISSN: 1366-3666
• Electronic ISSN: 2042-8790
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/wwop-11-2024-0077
• Keywords: care homes, education, older people, competency framework, hydration, workforce development