industry & policy
Care to compare?
A new survey allows clients
and workers to give their
opinions on quality with ease,
offering researchers and
providers an unobtrusive new
tool for improving services.
Adam Stebbing and Michael Fine
interviewed by Dallas Bastian
T
he researchers behind a survey
tool that measures quality of life in
community care have held a public
seminar to detail its potential to contribute
to understanding changes in the delivery of
age services.
The team, comprising researchers from
Macquarie University and the Australian
Health Services Research Institute (AHSRI) at
the University of Wollongong, was awarded
an Australian Research Council linkage grant
to develop the Australian Community Care
Outcomes Measure (ACCOM), which aims
to ensure that clients get the assistance and
services important to them.
Macquarie lead professor Michael Fine
says: “Because it is difficult at present to
assess the impact of providing care, it is
easy for staff, clients or family carers to
lose hope, or to become distressed about
the problems faced by those who need
help. This is where outcome measures
16 agedcareinsite.com.au
come into play. They provide a standard
way of measuring improvement, stability or
deterioration in the most important aspects
of an individual’s life.”
When consumers complete the
ACCOM, providers receive information
on a number of differe