A short-term specialist reablement intervention for older people who experienced functional decline, funded by the Federal Government, helped 99 per cent of participants to remain living in their own homes, according to new published research.

The research justifies the Federal Government’s decision to include a Restorative Care Pathway in the new Support at Home program beginning July 1.

The Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) Programme provides allied health support for up to 8 weeks to community-dwelling older people at risk of losing their independence. This will be increased with Support at Home to 12 weeks with potential for a 4-week extension.

The retrospective, cohort study by HammondCare researchers, published in the journal BMC Health Services Research, followed 484 STRC clients – with a mean age of 81 years – over a two-year period between March 2021 and February 2023, to determine its effectiveness as a restorative care program.

“The findings suggest that STRC is an effective program for older adults in gaining function  and meeting individualised goals,” the study concludes.

STRC services tailored to the individual’s needs may include; occupational therapists, physiotherapists, nursing support, exercise physiologists, dieticians, personal carers, provision of equipment, and in-home technology.

STRC is estimated to cost more than $74 million a year with capacity to help up to 14,800 older Australians a year. The researchers note there has been “scarce” research and limited monitoring of the effectiveness of STRC.

Laurie Sucic, 91, of Narraweena on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, is delighted with the results of her STRC programme. Mrs Sucic is on the waiting list for a Home Care Package, not expected to be offered until mid-2026.

Prior to her STRC referral, she was frequently out of breath, struggled with her mobility and had lost 13kgs since Christmas. Mrs Sucic, who uses a wheeled walker, is a carer for her husband Nandy, who lives with Parkinson’s disease, and she needs to stay as well as possible to support him.

She describes the HammondCare team, including physiotherapist Jason Chen, who comes to her home to deliver her STRC as “my angels”. Other team members include co-ordinator Dominque Petersen, together with Occupational Therapist Madison Flynn, Exercise Physiologist Lauren Groom, and Dietician Emily Colombage.

Mrs Sucic is nearing the end of her STRC programme and feeling better already. “It’s been an enormous help, and I feel thoroughly supported,” she said.

Daughter Kim was glowing in her praise of the STRC team, and how they lifted her mum’s spirits. ‘It’s like the sun has shone into my parents’ house again,” Kim said.

The research “Client characteristics and outcomes of the Australian short-term restorative care programme: a cohort study”, was the work of Dr Lindsey Brett, Angela Collins, Kylie Lemsing, and Professor Christopher Poulos. It analysed HammondCare’s routinely collected STRC clinical outcome measures.

Along with the government-mandated modified Barthel Index (mBI), the HammondCare STRC team collects additional measures covering nutritional status, frailty, patient-reported outcomes, and goal attainment.

Dr Brett said that the availability of this data was what made the study possible; “This gave a much fuller picture of where the person was at, at the beginning of the programme, and what the person had achieved at the end, rather than just relying on an mBI”, Dr Brett said.

Overall, there was a statistically significant improvement in mBI scores for the cohort. Though this may not have reflected a meaningful change for participants, with 64.8% in the same mBI category on entry and exit of the STRC programme.

By using a variety of outcome measures, including patient-reported measures, the STRC team had a greater understanding of their clients’ needs and preferences.

Another additional measure used by the HammondCare STRC team was the Clinical Frailty Scale, a highly relevant measure due to the association between frailty and high rates of adverse outcomes and increased healthcare use.

The study found upon programme entry, 60% of clients were classified as frail, and another 33% at risk of frailty. This information guided the STRC team on treatment.