Home Modification Service Delivery in Australia

Abstract

In Australia, a patchwork of services provide home modifications, each with varying approaches and service guidelines. This context is rapidly changing with consumer directed care models impacting the aged care and disability sectors. A study investigating satisfaction with service delivery for 31 clients of major home modification services is presented to illustrate home modification practice in Australia. The findings indicate overall satisfaction with home modification services, but also revealed areas for improvement and inequalities in service provision. This included the need for more choice in design, materials and products and the impact of housing tenure, where renters reported lower satisfaction.

KEYWORDS:

• Home adaptation
• occupational therapy
• service provision
• person-focused practice
• home modification
• outcomes

Acknowledgments

The authors report there was no funding received to complete this research. The authors would like to thank the home modification services and their clients who participated in the research.

Disclosure statement

All authors have contributed significantly, and are all in agreement with the content of the manuscript. The authors declare no conflict of interest. The protocol for the research project has been approved by the University of Queensland’s Behavioral and Social Sciences Ethical Review Committee (Project Clearance Number: 2011000007) and Metro South Health Service District Human Research Ethics Committee of the Queensland Government (HREC/11/QPAH/027-SSA/11/QPAH/256). All participants of this study provided informed consent for data to be collected and/or used and participant anonymity has been preserved.