Assignment Brief – Case Study Care Plan

Course: Bachelor of Nursing & Social Work
Assessment Type: Case Study & Care Plan
Word Limit: 2,250 words (±10%)
Weighting: 40%
Due Date: Week 8, Semester 1, 2025

Assessment Overview

As a social worker employed within SA Health Regional Health Services, you are tasked with assessing the care needs of older people admitted to hospital or living in the community. This assessment requires you to demonstrate advanced knowledge of care planning, active ageing frameworks, dementia care, and aged care policy reforms in Australia (2019–2025).

You will apply theoretical frameworks and ethical decision-making to critically evaluate the needs of the client and their family. Your paper should reflect professional standards of academic writing and demonstrate evidence-based practice.

Case Study

Client: Antonia, a 78-year-old Italian-born woman admitted after being found wandering in her community.

• Married to Marvik, 82, who has mobility issues and is increasingly unable to provide full-time care.

• Two adult children, Chris and Margaret, live interstate with limited involvement.

• Household supported by a pension; limited financial resources.

• Antonia presents with dementia-related symptoms (disorientation, forgetfulness, wandering, reverting to Italian language).

• She has co-morbidities: hypertension and type 2 diabetes, managed with medication.

• Increasing family tension, safety concerns, and reliance on informal community support.

• Hospital multidisciplinary team has referred Antonia for social work care planning.

Assessment Task

You are required to:

1. Assess the Client & Family Situation

   • Identify the ongoing issues for Antonia and her family.

   • Critically analyse their current socio-economic and cultural context.

2. Apply the Active Ageing Framework

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   • Briefly discuss the framework and apply it to Antonia’s case.

   • Highlight physical, social, and emotional wellbeing aspects.

3. Develop Care Goals and Strategies

   • Identify three key goals.

   • Suggest practical strategies to achieve them.

   • Define measurable indicators for evaluating outcomes.

4. Apply Theoretical Perspectives

   • Choose at least two social work theories (e.g., Person-in-Environment, Systems Theory, Strengths-Based Approach).

   • Explain how these inform assessment and care planning.

5. Policy and Legislation Application

   • Integrate current aged care reforms, policies, and legislations (e.g., Aged Care Act amendments, Royal Commission reforms).

6. Ethical Considerations

   • Critically analyse ethical issues in decision-making (e.g., autonomy vs. safety, cultural sensitivity).

7. Family Carer Needs

   • Reflect upon Marvik’s needs as a carer.

   • Consider interstate children’s perspectives in decision-making.

8. Advocacy Role

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   • Identify areas where advocacy is required (e.g., dementia services, carer support).

   • Explain how you would pursue advocacy within health and aged care systems.

Structure of Paper

Use the task questions as headings. Adhere to academic writing conventions:

• Font: Times New Roman, size 12

• Spacing: 1.5

• Margins: 2.5 cm

• Referencing: APA 7th edition

• Word count: 2250 (±10%)

References

1. Low, L., Fletcher, J., Goodenough, B., Jeon, Y. H., Etherton-Beer, C., MacAndrew, M., & Beattie, E. (2021). A systematic review of interventions to change staff care practices in order to improve resident outcomes in nursing homes. PLoS One, 16(6), e0252046. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252046

2. Kendig, H., & Browning, C. J. (2020). Active ageing: A policy framework in response to the longevity revolution. Journal of Population Ageing, 13(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-019-09265-6

3. O’Shea, F., King, J., & Noone, C. (2022). Dementia care in multicultural societies: Challenges and policy implications. Ageing & Society, 42(8), 1765–1783. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X20001546

4. Fine, M., & Davidson, B. (2020). The marketisation of aged care: Implications for social work with older people. Australian Social Work, 73(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2019.1672184

5. Jeon, Y. H., Thomas, T. H., & Chenoweth, L. (2019). Aged care reforms in Australia: Impact on workforce, service provision, and social work practice. International Social Work, 62(6), 1528–1542. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872819849492

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Assessment: Care Plan:

As a Social worker you will undertake assessment of client’s care needs and make a care plan. Pretend you are a social worker employed in SA Health Regional health services network. Your role is to provide social work services to older people either admitted to a hospital or living in the community. Your task is to assess the care needs and prepare a care plan for Antonia (Italian women). While doing this, you will critically analyse their current socio, economic and political situation and apply knowledge, values and theoretical frameworks learnt previously in social work program and in the current course in making assessment of care needs and developing care plan.

Case Study
Antonia is a 78 years old Italian female married to Marvik, 82 years old. They have been living together for the last 35 years in a regional town in South Australia. Antonia and Marvik have two children, a boy Chris and daughter Margaret, they both are settled interstate. Chris and Margaret visit their parents once in a year during Christmas.
The couple lives on limited income on government pension. Marvik is retired for the last 15 years. He worked as a mechanic before however, left it after he sustained a physical injury during work. Antonia looked after the household until recently. She liked cooking and baking. Marvik would manage shopping and travel in the town for social needs. Marvik is becoming frail now and having mobility issues and thus needs assistance for shopping and travel.
Antonia has been disoriented, forgetful and wandering in her neighbourhood for the last two years. She becomes agitated if she is unable to find her objects. She is refusing to visit the doctor to discuss her agitated behaviour and forgetfulness. The couple has been fighting often as Antonia would not maintain the household and show outbursts if questioned. Marvik is having safety concerns and unable to leave her unattended. They have a few friends in the town who provide assistance if called.
Her condition has worsened recently where she went missing for a couple of hours causing anxiety to Marvik. Antonia was located by the local police and brought to the hospital. Antonia has reverted to Italian language and at times would not respond in English. Besides this, she is also having high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes and is on medication.
The multidisciplinary team at the hospital has discussed her case in the morning allocation meeting and assigned her for social work assessment. You are part of the multidisciplinary team and your task is to make an assessment of her care needs and develop a care plan.

Assessment Task
1. Briefly explain the ongoing issues for the client and her family in this case scenario and assess their current situation.
2. Briefly discuss the ‘Actively ageing framework’ and implement the framework to make care needs assessment.
3. Develop three care goals and strategies to achieve these goals and determine how the goals will be measured.
4. Explain theoretical knowledge/perspectives that would guide you to understand the client case? Choose at least two theories and explain how do they inform your practice?
5. Discuss and apply current aged care policy, reforms, and legislations to develop the care plan.
6. Critically analyse ethical issues and ethical considerations that might be there in the decision-making process.
7. Reflect upon family carer’s needs and family members’ decision to provide care.
8. Identify need for advocacy in this case situation and how could it be pursued?
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The assessment criteria and weightage assigned to different aspects of this assessment is listed in the feedback sheet.
Structure of Paper: You could use the questions as headings to structure your care plan.
Additional Requirements
Minimum 10-12 references and use APA convention of referencing
Academic writing with adherence to formatting requirements: Font size 12 Times New Roman with 1.5 spacing and text justified, insert page numbers and a margin of 2.5 cm. Headings are allowed.
The total word limit of 2250 (plus or minus 10%) are acceptable. Markers will only mark to the word limits, i.e. maximum word count 2500 words.
Please make sure that you have read the assignment feedback sheet before you begin your assignment. The feedback sheet indicates which aspects of this assignment require the most attention and carry the heaviest weighting. Feedback on this assignment will only be provided on the Feedback sheet