Journal article
A description and evaluation of an innovative rural rehabilitation programme in South Eastern Australia
B Dow, Kirsten Moore, Jillian M Dunbar, Joan Nankervis, Susan Hunt
Disability and Rehabilitation | TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD | Published : 2010
Abstract
PURPOSE: To describe and evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative model of rehabilitation designed to meet the needs of a sparsely populated rural area in South Eastern Australia. METHOD: Five rural health services collaborated to establish a rehabilitation programme. Evaluation included comparing length of stay (LOS) and improvement in the Modified Barthel Index (BI) with the Victorian State average for Level 2 (non-specialist) rehabilitation. Surveys were conducted with staff, clients and carers in the programme. RESULTS: An inpatient rehabilitation programme was successfully established through cooperation between five health services. Clients admitted to the programme improved functio..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The study reported in this article was commissioned and funded by the Victorian Government Department of Human Services. The authors acknowledge the expert advice provided by the project advisory committee, in particular the support provided by Ms Susan Morrissey, Rehabilitation Project Leader, Ms Belinda Gilsenan, Mr Simon Moy and Ms Nicole Doran of the Victorian Government Department of Human Services and the contributions of the staff, client and carer participants in this study.