Projects Aged Care

Evaluation of the National Aged Care Advocacy Program (NACAP)

Projects Aged Care

Evaluation of the National Aged Care Advocacy Program (NACAP)

Projects Aged Care

Evaluation of the National Aged Care Advocacy Program (NACAP)

  • Services

    Evaluation & Advisory

  • Status

    Complete

  • Client

    Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

  • Jurisdiction

    Australia

Many older Australians and their carers require support to navigate the complexity of the aged care system. They are also uncertain about their rights and their aged care providers’ responsibilities.

The National Aged Care Advocacy Program (NACAP) provides free, independent and confidential advocacy support, education and information to older people and their carers. It also delivers education sessions to aged care providers to promote awareness of elder rights and provider responsibilities. The program has a particular focus on supporting people living with dementia, mental health conditions, disability or cognitive decline, and people from the special needs groups defined in the Aged Care Act 1997.

This work is particularly important in light of the findings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety relating to the importance of advocacy to safeguard the rights and interests of older people.

To ensure the NACAP is meeting its objectives, the department appointed AHA to evaluate the program. Our evaluation considered what the program has achieved and how advocacy services and policy could be improved in future. In particular, we looked at how effective the program has been in:

  • ensuring older people’s aged care rights are understood, recognised and upheld
  • supporting older people from diverse cultural groups and with complex vulnerabilities.

The evaluation involved 3 parallel streams of work:

  1. Implementation: We interviewed people responsible for implementing the NACAP to explore how it is being delivered and whether the governance model, funding approach, and stakeholder linkages are appropriate for the program.
  2. Effectiveness: We used a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to assess how well the NACAP is meeting demand for timely advocacy services and achieving its intended objectives. A key part of our approach was asking NACAP recipients and aged care providers about how well the program meets their needs.
  3. Efficiency: We drew on qualitative and quantitative data to identify areas of service duplication and to determine if the program delivers value for money.

Our final report included findings and recommendations to improve the program and is now available on the department’s website.

NACAP provides free advocacy services to older Australians and their carers, and promotes awareness of elder rights and provider responsibilities.