Online
Grief Centre Webinar - Loss of intimate connection in aged care: Balancing care, consent and dignity
Event Locations
Online
Event Start: Tuesday, 26 August 2025 at 01:00 PM
Event End: Tuesday, 26 August 2025 at 03:00 PM
Loss of intimate connection in aged care: Balancing care, consent and dignity
Live webinar with Catherine Cook, RN, PhD, M.Counselling and Chris Sinclair, RN
Venue: Online
Who should attend this webinar?
This webinar is for any staff, residents, and family members involved in the transition to care. This includes health care assistants, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, clinical and non-clinical managers, and auxiliary staff.
Overview
Commonly, very frail older adults, including people living with dementia, move to residential care homes. Maintaining significant intimate relationships can be challenging. With communal living, new relationships may also flourish that may unsettle the expectations of staff, families and other residents. Residential facilities typically want to uphold a person-centred philosophy, yet without education and support for staff and families, there can be increased loneliness and diminished opportunities for intimacy. Residents' expressions of intimacy and sexuality can be compromised by confusion around staff expectations, the role of the EPA and consent. Dementia adds complexity to this decision-making. Clinical leaders are central in ensuring policies and practice enhance social and sexual belonging and rights. This includes having organisational support of a practical policy accompanied by staff, resident, and family education and role modelling.
Key learning points
- Understand that intimacy, connection, and sexual expression are lifelong needs
- Recognise the ways residential care homes can facilitate sexual expression, balancing a duty of care, resident’s rights and communal living
- Recognise the supportive, educative, and advocacy role of staff Identify the role of family dynamics in shaping decisions about residents’ intimacy and sexual expression needs
- Understand the legal context of a duty of care and residents’ rights
- Appreciate the difference between individual staff members’ values and preferences and residents’ legal rights
Webinar registration give you:
- Access to the live two-hour webinar
- Access to the webinar recording for 30 days
- Access to a downloadable PDF handout
- Certificate of accomplishment issued for CPD/OPD points provided you view a minimum of 80% of the webinar, and complete a short quiz.
For more information contact Cathy Williams on events@griefcentre.org.nz