Care Assessment Team (care + assessment_team)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Driving and dementia: a prospective audit of clients referred to an aged care assessment team

AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 4 2003
Robert Bunt
Objective: Many people with dementia or cognitive Impairment continue to drive. Given Australia's ageing population, this raises safety concerns for the driver in the community. This paper presents data collected by the NS W Central Coast Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT), outlining the extent of the problem on the Central Coast and offers some suggestions about dealing with this issue. Method: A prospective audit of clients referred to Central Coast ACAT over a seven month period. Data describing the clients' cognitive state and also their driving habits were collected during routine ACAT assessments. Results: 1203 people were referred to ACAT during the study period. 100 (8%) of these were driving and 34% of those driving had some form of cognitive impairment. In some cases the impairment was quite severe. Most of these drivers were male. In a majority of the cases, concerns were expressed by someone familiar with the person, regarding their capacity to drive safely. Conclusion: The results support findings from other studies, which suggest there is a small but significant number of elderly people with cognitive impairment who are still driving. We propose that a safety first policy should be adopted and where there is doubt about the persons ability to drive safely, an Occupationul Therapy driving test in conjunction with a detailed cognitive assessment needs to be performed. [source]


The state of residential care for people with mental illness; insights from an audit of the screening tool for entry to licensed residential facilities

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 2 2009
Lauren J. Bailey
Abstract Objective: To describe the medical and psychiatric profile of people assessed with the ,Screening Tool for Entry to Licensed Residential Centres' (Boarding House Screening Tool), examine the impact on their accommodation and the screening process. Methods: Copies of all of the Boarding House Screening Tools completed by the Camperdown Aged Care Assessment Team in 2003 and 2004 were examined. Accommodation status in 2006 was obtained from the Boarding House Team, GP or hospital database. A structured telephone survey of Aged Care Assessment Team staff was performed. Results: Thirty-nine Boarding House Screening Tools were reviewed. The mean age of the screened population was 43 yrs (range 22-76 yrs), most were men (36M: 3F). Eighty-two per cent had a listed psychiatric diagnosis, 23% a recent history of substance abuse, 10% a diagnosis of intellectual disability/cognitive impairment and 28% had more than two listed medical diagnoses. Seven people (18%), diagnosed with Schizophrenia, were not approved by the Boarding House Screening Tool because of high care needs and/or violent behaviour, however, only one remained in a high care facility in 2006. Forty-two per cent of people approved by the Boarding House Screening Tool were living in Licensed Boarding Houses in 2006. Conclusion and implications: People being assessed for entry to Licensed Boarding Houses are young with high levels of psychiatric illness, medical co-morbidity and drug and alcohol use. The Boarding House Screening Tool is effective in keeping people who are not approved out of Licensed Boarding Houses; however, even if approved this accommodation is short-term in the majority of cases. [source]


Does assessment make a difference for people with dementia?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2003
The effectiveness of the Aged Care Assessment Teams in Australia
Abstract The needs of individuals with dementia and other psychiatric problems of old age have received increased attention in Australia over the last decade. This paper reports on the role of Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACATs) in managing these clients, and the extent to which they are differentiated from other clients in the assessment process and outcomes recommended. Data on some 26,500 clients seen by ACATs in Victoria in the second half of 1999 are analysed to show (1) the relationship between a diagnosis of dementia and reporting of disability in orientation, (2) characteristics of clients with and without a diagnosis of dementia and (3) outcomes for groups of clients defined on the basis of a diagnosis of dementia and disability in orientation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Driving and dementia: a prospective audit of clients referred to an aged care assessment team

AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 4 2003
Robert Bunt
Objective: Many people with dementia or cognitive Impairment continue to drive. Given Australia's ageing population, this raises safety concerns for the driver in the community. This paper presents data collected by the NS W Central Coast Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT), outlining the extent of the problem on the Central Coast and offers some suggestions about dealing with this issue. Method: A prospective audit of clients referred to Central Coast ACAT over a seven month period. Data describing the clients' cognitive state and also their driving habits were collected during routine ACAT assessments. Results: 1203 people were referred to ACAT during the study period. 100 (8%) of these were driving and 34% of those driving had some form of cognitive impairment. In some cases the impairment was quite severe. Most of these drivers were male. In a majority of the cases, concerns were expressed by someone familiar with the person, regarding their capacity to drive safely. Conclusion: The results support findings from other studies, which suggest there is a small but significant number of elderly people with cognitive impairment who are still driving. We propose that a safety first policy should be adopted and where there is doubt about the persons ability to drive safely, an Occupationul Therapy driving test in conjunction with a detailed cognitive assessment needs to be performed. [source]