Articles
The core objective of the AGID project is to improve the quality of life of people with Intellectual Disabilities faced with the problems of ageing. The project intends to reach this goal by increasing the knowledge and the competence of frontline staff and professionals in this field through the development of web-based training on the topic of ageing and intellectual disability. The quality of life of elderly people with Intellectual disabilities and their families will be improved through increased knowledge of support staff working with the service-users.
AGID has identified additional objectives to be achieved at various stages of the project:
- To carry out a mapping of policy, needs and services for older people with ID based on the analysis of needs
- To involve people with ID and their families in the formulation and development of the training
- To involve professionals and frontline staff from a range of service agencies in the formulation and development of the training
- To develop a training module using the Delphi consensus method across partner countries
- To implement the training module through an innovative web-based format
- To evaluate the training module and its impact in providing personalised care for older people with ID
- To disseminate the training module, its methodology and impact in improving the quality of life of people with ID across European countries
- To reflect the UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities in all the steps of the project.
This project will also address the following objectives of the Leonardo Da Vinci Programme:
1. Supporting improvements in quality and innovation in vocational education and training systems, institutions and practices:
The project aims to improve the quality of staff training in order to enable them to meet the needs of ageing people with disabilities in the most effective way. Training modules based on the outcomes of focus groups involving service users will impart increased knowledge and skills to enable staff to respond to the changes in users' lives.
2. Facilitating the development of innovative practices in the field of vocational education and training on regional, national and EU level
The project aims to develop quality and innovative staff training on specific issues related to aging and disability. The results of each module delivered locally will be shared with the whole partnership and then transferred to a European level.
3. Developing Vocational Skills taking into consideration the labour market needs new Skills for New Jobs Platform
The project directly addresses the priority 3: "New skills for new jobs" since it focuses on the development of new skills for front-line staff. Participants in the AGID project training modules will learn new approaches; practices and competences that will help them face the new challenges in their profession.
In keeping with the European Disability strategy 2010 – 2020, the AGID project intends to “Raise disability awareness and specific knowledge among health professionals, considering
the specific needs of female and male patients”.
This project also wants to demonstrate that the active involvement of the target groups people with ID, their families and the professionals), during all steps of the projects, will bring them additional benefits.
Appreciative Inquiry
The innovative character of the AGID project is based on the use of the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology. AI has been the base for carrying out the focus groups in each partner country and from that, the pattern for developing and delivering the training modules. AI is based on principles of inclusion and enables to hear the voices of users, families and professionals. This qualitative methodology of research is a simple but radical approach to understanding the social world. AI concentrates on exploring ideas that people have about what is valuable in what they do and then tries to work out ways in which this can be built on – the emphasis is on appreciating the activities and responses of people rather than concentrating on their problems. The radical aspect of AI is in the way that it challenges us to rethink our ideas on how people work, how changes happen and how research can contribute to this process (Reed 2007). In addition it also facilitates discussion and exploration of practice, as it starts from a positive position
AI approach begins with the assumption that every human system already has strengths: key factors of health and well being.
The AGID consortium decided to use this method because:
- AI is collaborative effort to bring people together, it involves multiple members or stakeholders conversing and working together.
- AI is inclusive; it invites a widening circle of voices, representing all stakeholder voices within a system.
- AI is generative, it fosters a dialogue that cultivates scenarios and theories what leads to more cooperation, to higher performing work. Participants are drawn to work together more toward a common anticipatory image.
AGID project has been conducted through the incorporation of the four principles of Appreciative enquiry (AI).
This consists of:
- Discovery – appreciating what gives life, when we are at our best, positive core.
- Dreaming – envisioning what might be, images of the future we want.
- Designing – Determining what will be and;
- Delivery – Planning what will be.
Discovery
On this stage we bring all the stakeholders (the whole system together) users, family carers, first line professionals, trainers, together working in focus groups; giving immediately everyone a voice in the process.
This process begins when participants interview each other with appreciatively focused questions on the key factors of health and well being. The appreciative protocol encourages each party to probe deeply into his partner’s stories, in order to dig out the underlying causes or factors for success. The best of “What is”.
Dream
In the dream phase, people imagine new dimensions, outcomes and results.
Based on the common success factors, we make a common dream on the key factors. “imagine, awaking from a long dream, everything is just like you wished for what do you see, what is going on, with whom, and so on.”
Here we get a picture of how the quality of live will be changed for the users.
This phase is taking place in every partner country with stakeholders.
Design
The design phase addresses the question: What kind of organizational forms, policies, and structures will enable the cooperative capacity necessary to make these imaginative outcomes and highest wishes become a reality. Designing involves creating the foundations upon which guiding structures are built.
With the design phase begins the transformation from stories, dreams, ideas and feelings to actions and projects. These ideas are the key elements to build the different modules on. In order to validate the training modules among the consortium, we will incorporate this phase with a consensus model based on the Delphi technique ( ref. WP description)
Destiny
The Aim of the destiny phase is to ensure that the shared dreams can be realized through the “blueprint” of desired actions / outcomes. To do this, participants in Ai do specific action planning, and role allocation for the necessary next steps
| Purpose | Achievement | Assessment Criteria/Indicators |
| Improve the quality of life of people with ID | Involve people with intellectual disabilities, frontline staff and health care professionals in the designing of the training modules (Using the AI methodology) | Deliverable with surveyand questionnaire among the focus group participants |
| Increase the knowledge and competency of frontline staff and professionals | Development of training modules for frontline staff and health care professionals | Deliverable with surveyand questionnaire among the frontline staff and health care professionals validated through
advisory group of expert |
| Disseminate the training module(s), its validity and impact in improving the quality of life of people with ID across European countries | Web based platform, conferences and other disseminations activities | Web-site hits, number of downloads, Number of external participants at project events |
The Training Platform
Through the use of the AI inquiry, the AGID consortium has individuated the users’, the frontline staff's and professionals’ needs within the planning and delivery of services.
The consortium has chosen six main topics and has developed six modules being a part of the training platform. Moreover a training Manuel has been produced with the aim to guide the trainee into successfully completing the platform.
The six module developed are the following:
- Ageing Process
- Person- Centered Planning
- Social Networking and Communication of Elderly People with ID
- Emotional Regulation for Front-line staff
- Pathological Ageing in People with ID
- Taking Care: a Complex Professional Stance
Web Platform
Moreover, the implementation of a web platform of e-learning will allow a much greater range of tools to be used, including student/ tutor collaboration, online peer to peer learning and both summative and formative assessment options. All these activities provide an enhanced learning experience for the learners and offer flexibility and opportunities in the delivery of the programs.
Why AGID?
The progressive aging of European society is a matter of fact and is affecting the European Union as a whole. Professionals in the health and social care services have very little knowledge and awareness on the complex health and social needs of elderly and ageing people with ID.
In front of this phenomenon, AGID takes in consideration the specific needs of ageing and elderly people with intellectual disabilities, and considers of primary importance that the frontline staff and professionals acquire sound knowledge of the users’ needs as to provide personalised care and services.
The AGID project
Co-funded by the European Commission and additionally in Austria by the “Fonds Gesundes Österreich”, the project developed a training platform in e-format on Ageing and Disability issues with the primary aim to provide quality services to aging people with ID. The multinational consortium intends through quality training of the staff and professionals working with the user, to deliver services which could meet better the specific and evolving needs of this new emerging population- aging people with intellectual disabilities. The consortium has shaped an outstanding training portfolio (In English, French, German, Italian and Flemish) in line with the users’ needs and requirements.
Expected impact
The AGID consortium believes that quality training of the staff contributes to the quality of the services provided, and increases the quality of life of the user.
The staff once has successfully completed the training available in 5 languages shall better meet the evolving needs of the user, providing him/her better quality services and with that increase his/hers’ quality of life.
The sustainability of the platform will go for 5 years beyond the project closure as to guarantee greater exploitation of results and it is easily transferable in other continues due to the spectrum of languages in which the training platform is available. The content of the training platform in all the languages will be open to public on the 25th of February 2014- Final Dissemination Conference where with the different stakeholders we shall experiment the different forms of learning and teaching and implement the co-production of public services together with the user. We sincerely find our project to be of great importance since a concrete step to more inclusive and SOCIAL EUROPE
The AGID (Ageing and Intellectual disability) project is about developing web based training for frontline staff and professionals on the topic of ageing and intellectual disability.
