Befriending is defined as acting or becoming a friend to someone, and involves regular conversations about topics of mutual interest, avoiding health-related topics and difficult emotional issues. Preliminary results from the BEFRIENDAS (BEFRIENding for Depression, Anxiety and Social support; ANZCTR registration number ACTRN12619000676112) randomised controlled trial indicate that befriending from trained volunteers significantly improves depression and anxiety in older people living in residential aged care. This presentation will discuss resident and aged care staff opinions on the befriending program and what they think are important aspects to consider when implementing befriending into residential aged care facilities.
We interviewed 47 residents about their experiences of befriending after receiving the intervention over a 4-month period and 11 aged care staff who were involved in supporting the intervention. The interviews were transcribed and Colaizzi’s phenomenological data analysis steps was used to find common themes.
Both residents and staff commented that befriending was a positive experience for residents living in residential aged care. Some things they reported that need to be considered when implementing befriending in residential aged care were the timing of implementing the visits (e.g. soon after admission), format of the visits (face-to-face preferred over remote contact such as telephone or video), the length and frequency of the visits, and suitable training for the volunteer befriender.
In conclusion, residents and aged care staff view befriending as a simple and easy to implement intervention that is beneficial to the mental health of residents living in residential aged care.