Measuring what matters most to consumers
The International Centre for Allied Health Evidence, University of South Australia has joined with CarePage to evaluate a new consumer focused quality of life measurement tool, the Happy Life Index. Funded by the Digital Health CRC the project is called: “Measuring and reporting on what matters most to consumers with the Happy Life Index”.
With aged care consumers’ help, researchers at The University of South Australia will determine the reliability and acceptability of the Happy Life Index from the point of view of residents in aged care facilities, and their family members.
Why are we doing this project?
Decisions about access into aged care services are often made in a highly emotional and time poor context, and with an aged care population requiring increased access to aged care services, the availability of meaningful information and benchmarks to consumers is more important than ever. This project is focused on driving continuous and consumer-informed improvement to deliver better outcomes for older Australians.
The Happy Life Index
The Index was developed in a consumer collaboration between Australian company CarePage and the Aged Care Guild in 2019, to encourage aged care service providers to measure the quality of life of their residents. It measures aspects of aged care which providers have capacity to modify to improve residents’ quality of life.
What is involved in the project?
This project aims to confirm the reliability, and acceptability of the Happy Life Index. The research team will be recruiting residents from aged care facilities and their family members. Participation in this project is completely voluntary and does not impact on the delivery of care. A research assistant will help participants to answer a simple survey tool using a mobile tablet. There are 13 questions, taking less than 10 minutes to complete. The survey will be repeated within 1 week to assess reliability of the tool. Basic demographic data will also be collected. The information will be de-identified for secure storage and only anonymous collated results will be presented.
Family members who have agreed to participate in the project can access a participant information sheet here.
Want to know more?
- A/Prof Steve Milanese
- steve.milanese@unisa.edu.au
- 08 8302 1053
Ethics
This program has been approved by the University of South Australia's Human Research Ethics Committee (Ethics Protocol 203995). If you have concerns or complaints about the conduct of this project you should contact Tel: 08 8302 6330; Email: humanethics@unisa.edu.au
