Notes on the data: Home and Community Care Program

Home and Community Care Program: Instances and clients, 2014/15

Policy context: The Home and Community Care (HACC) Program is a joint Commonwealth, State and Territory initiative. It funds services which support people who are frail, aged and younger people with a disability (and their carers), who live at home and whose capacity for independent living is at risk or who are at risk of premature or inappropriate admission to long-term residential care. The broad aim is to offer maintenance and support services to help frail older people and younger people with disabilities to continue living in their communities.

HACC services may be offered in the home or local community by a HACC agency, community health centre or local council. Services include centre-based and other respite; social support and counselling; personal care; home modification and maintenance; transport; meals and other food services; information, advocacy and assessment; support for carers; allied health services; domestic assistance; and community nursing [1].

The HACC Program is a joint Australian Government, State and Territory initiative under the auspices of the Home and Community Care Act 1985.

Nationally, the Australian Government contributes approximately 60 per cent of Program funding and maintains a strategic policy role. Jurisdictions provide the remaining funding and are the primary point of contact for HACC service providers and consumers [1].

Reference

DoHA (Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing). Home and Community Care Program Overview [Internet]. [cited 2013 Oct 18 - no longer available online. Refer to new program https://www.dss.gov.au/ageing-and-aged-care/programs-services/commonwealth-home-support-programme/about-the-commonwealth-home-support-programme].

Notes:

Indicator details

Type of support/client	Definition	Measure
Clients living alone	Clients whose status is recorded as living alone at the date of most recent assessment.	Percentage of total clients
Clients with carer	Clients whose status is recorded as having a carer at the date of most recent assessment. The carer may be living with the client or not.	Percentage of total clients
Clients with co-resident carer	Clients whose status is recorded as having a carer living with them at the date of most recent assessment.	Percentage of total clients
Indigenous clients (per total clients)	Clients whose status is recorded as Indigenous at the date of most recent assessment.	Percentage of total clients
Indigenous clients (per Indigenous population)	Clients whose status is recorded as Indigenous at the date of most recent assessment.	Percentage of Indigenous population
Non-English-speaking clients	Clients whose main language spoken at home at the date of most recent assessment is not English.	Percentage of total clients
Total clients	All clients that recorded at least one instance of assistance for the time period.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Allied health care instances at home	Includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, advice from a dietician or nutritionist, or speech therapy - provided in the client’s home.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Allied health care instances at centre	Includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, advice from a dietician or nutritionist, or speech therapy - provided from a community centre	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Care received in support instances	Assistance with understanding and managing situations, behaviours and relationships associated with the person’s need for care and/or the caring role, including the provision of information, advice and training.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Case management instances	The active assistance received by a client from a formally identified agency worker who coordinates the planning and delivery of a suite of services to the individual clients.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Centre based day care instances	Attendance/participation in structured group activities designed to develop, maintain or support the capacity for independent living and social interaction which are conducted in a centre-based setting. It includes group excursions/activities conducted by centre staff but held away from the centre.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Client care coordination instances	Assistance which focuses on facilitating access to HACC services and includes implementing, monitoring and reviewing the care plan, liaison with service providers and advocacy to ensure the client has access to the range of services required.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Domestic assistance instances*	House cleaning, washing and ironing, help with shopping, transport to and from banks and appointments etc., and general household support.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Home maintenance and modification instances	Assistance with the maintenance and repair of the client's home, garden or yard to keep their home in a safe and habitable condition. This also includes minor modifications such as grab rails, hand rails, ramps, and shower rails to reduce the impact of disability on the activities of daily living.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Meals at centre plus meals at home instances*	Provision of meals prepared and delivered to the client’s home or provided in a community centre.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Nursing care at centre plus nursing care at centre instances	Health care provided to a client by a registered or enrolled nurse. This care can be provided from a community centre or in the client’s home.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Personal care instances	May include help with bathing, toilet use, eating, dressing and personal grooming.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Respite care instances	Assistance to carers by provision of a substitute carer. Can include centre-based, in-home, host family and peer support respite care.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Social support instances**	Assistance provided by a companion either within the home or while accessing community services, whose primary purpose is to meet the person’s need for social contact and/or accompaniment in order to participate in community life. This includes friendly visiting.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Transport instances**	Assistance to provide or coordinate individual or group transport services.	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)
Total instances of assistance	Includes all the above types of support plus: other food services provisions of goods and equipment such as self care and support and mobility aids, and formal linen service	Indirectly age-standardised rate and ratio (of the total population)

*The reporting of Victorian data for 'Meals at centre plus meals at home instances' differs from other States and Territories in that instances of meals at home are reported as part of the ‘Domestic assistance instances’ category.

**The reporting of Victorian data for 'Transport instances' differs from other States and Territories in that assistance to provide or coordinate individual or group transport services is reported as part of the 'Social support instances' category.

Note: The proportion of HACC funded agencies that submitted HACC MDS data differed across jurisdictions. In 2014-15 this ranged from 75 per cent to 100 per cent. Actual client and instance of assistance numbers will be higher than those reported here.

Geography: Data available by Local Government Area, Primary Health Network, Quintiles and Remoteness Areas (also available by Data available by Indigenous Area, Primary Health Networks, Indigenous Quintiles and Indigenous Remoteness Areas for applicable indicators)

Numerator: Number of instances of assistance or number of clients for the respective indicator

Denominator: Total population or Total Indigenous population, as appropriate - refer to 'Indicator details' above

Detail of analysis: Indirectly age-standardised rate per 1,000 population; and/or indirectly age-standardised ratio; or Percentage - refer to 'Indicator details' above

Source: Compiled by PHIDU using data from the Australian Institute of health and Welfare, 2014/15; and the average of the ABS Estimated Resident Population, 30 June 2014 and 30 June 2015 (for the indicator `Indigenous clients per Indigenous population’, the population used is the average of the estimated resident populations (non-ABS) at 30 June 2014 and 2015, developed by Prometheus Information Pty Ltd, under a contract with the Australian Government Department of Health).