Improving residents' aged care experience: Q&A with Sarah Dobrota
In 2022, Continence Health Australia secured a grant to develop a best practice model of continence care for the residential aged care sector. This involved creating a training program for staff working in residential aged care to improve the experience of older people who need continence support. A pilot study was conducted with 6 organisations over 11 sites in South Australia and Victoria. After the success of the pilot, the full program will be available nationally from January 2026. The program is called My Continence Care™ – Residential and is designed to upskill staff and improve the quality of continence care for all people in residential aged care. My Continence Care will provide aged care workers with training on dignified and person-centred continence care.
Sarah Dobrota is the Care and Quality Manager for Aged Care at North Eastern Community Hospital (NECH). NECH is a not-for-profit residential aged care facility in South Australia. Sarah talked to us about how implementing the My Continence Care pilot program at their facility improved the care they offer residents.
Q: What does your day-to-day job involve?
A: As the Care and Quality Manager my role is dynamic, no day is ever the same. I am responsible for providing leadership to ensure the smooth and compliant operation of our aged care facility. This includes upholding NECH policies and procedures, meeting all legislative and regulatory requirements and driving continuous improvement. A key part of my role involves staff education, clinical governance and proactive risk monitoring to ensure we deliver safe, high-quality, person-centred care.
Q: How did you find the experience of completing the My Continence Care pilot?
A: It was a great experience; it was something totally different to previous training in my aged care career. it was interesting and thought provoking. I liked having a mix of online training and small group 'continence conversations'. Not only did we learn a lot, but it was a way of staff coming together and sharing experiences and collaborating on ideas to improve the continence care we provide for our residents.
Q: What were your biggest takeaways from My Continence Care?
A: It is important to be reminded that what may feel like a routine task to us is a deeply personal experience for the resident. Empathy should remain at the core of our care. Regular reminders and reflection helps ensure we never lose sight of this.
Q: How did completing My Continence Care change how you and/or your staff approach patient care?
A: Bringing us all back to basics, person-centred care always.
Q. What are the most positive changes you have seen in staff or patients since doing the My Continence Care pilot?
A: Ensuring we are all discussing personal toileting preferences with the residents. Not just allocating a continence aid that we think will suit them the best. A small change that makes a big difference to a resident’s quality of life.
Q: Who do you think will benefit from doing the My Continence Care course?
A: Everyone will benefit—clinical managers, nurses, personal care workers, the lifestyle team—the more that complete it, the greater the impact. Despite the extensive education aged care staff receive, in my experience, continence care has often been overlooked. However, it can affect so many aspects of a person’s wellbeing and quality of life and must be recognised as a priority moving forward.
Q: With the New Aged Care Act having just come into force, will this training help staff comply with the new rules and expected continence care outcomes under Standard 5 Clinical Care?
A: Yes absolutely! Educating staff on the importance of respecting residents’ choices, preferences and rights in relation to their continence care is essential, and an exciting opportunity to enhance person-centred care.
Find out more about the My Continence Care™ – Residential program: bit.ly/MyContinenceCare.
Sign up to do the training
Continence Health Australia is now working towards nationwide implementation of My Continence Care across more than 2,600 residential aged care facilities. If you’re ready to uplift your workforce and transform continence care in your facility, we invite you to reach out via the Expression of Interest Form.