Client Self-Assessment in Community Aged Care: A Comparative Study Involving Older Australians and Their Case Managers

SAGE Open

Goetz Ottmann¹ 

关键词: domiciliary aged care;    self-assessment;    aging;    the life course;    sociology of health;    illness;    sociology;    social sciences;    social work;    needs assessment;    community aged care;   

DOI  :  10.1177/2158244014522073

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

Self-assessment of support needs is a relatively new and under-researched phenomenon in domiciliary aged care. This article outlines the results of a comparative study focusing on whether a self-assessment approach assists clients to identify support needs and the degree to which self-assessed needs differ from an assessment conducted by community care professionals. A total of 48 older people and their case managers completed a needs assessment tool. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were used to ascertain older people’s views and preferences regarding the self-assessment process. The study suggests that while a co-assessment approach as outlined in this article has the potential to assist older people to gain a better understanding of their care needs as well as the assessment process and its ramifications, client self-assessment should be seen as part of a co-assessment process involving care professionals. Such a co-assessment process allows older people to gain a better understanding of their support needs and the wider community aged care context. The article suggests that a co-assessment process involving both clients and care professionals contains features that have the capacity to enhance domiciliary aged care.

【 授权许可】

CC BY