Towards a Measure of Function for Home and Community Care Services in Australia: Part 2 - Evaluation of the Screening Tool and Assessment Instruments

Abstract

The National Home and Community Care (HACC) Dependency Data Items Project was established to recommend, for national use, validated and reliable instruments for measuring the dependency of people eligible for HACC services. In Stage 2 of the project - reported here - a screening tool and assessment instruments selected in Stage 1 of the project were field-tested in a range of HACC agencies. The performance of the screen and the associated assessments was evaluated, as was their acceptability to HACC staff and clients. The results suggest that all of the five instruments are suitable for the target population of HACC services and they can be used effectively across a broad range of service types and by providers of diverse professional backgrounds.