Attitudes towards dignity of risk in older people: A survey following a short narrative film

Objective: To evaluate aged care staff's ‘willingness to help an older person with risk-taking activities’ that improve quality of life (‘dignity of risk’). 

Methods: Opportunity-based cross-sectional anonymous electronic survey in four Australian jurisdictions, conducted immediately after screening a short animated narrative film describing ‘dignity of risk’. Survey comprised nine questions including respondent demographics, professional role, risk-taking and outcome. 

Results: From 24 separate screenings, there were 929 respondents. Agreement to ‘help an older person with risk-taking activities’ was associated with respondent prediction of the least severe harm occurring (OR = 2.22 [1.20, 4.12], P =.001). Conversely, respondents in non-executive, non-managerial roles—that is, nurses and care workers—were unlikely to agree to help with risk-taking activities (OR 0.36-0.49, P ≤.03). There was not an association with respondent's age grouping (P =.6). 

Conclusion: Staff self-reported attitudes towards dignity of risk are important to understand to enhance in an older person's quality of life.