Review to pave way for NPs in aged care
Academics say the national evaluation of the government’s aged care nurse practitioner program will provide much-needed Australian evidence of the effectiveness of nurse practitioners in aged care.
The national evaluation of the government’s aged care nurse practitioner program will provide much-needed Australian evidence of the effectiveness, financial viability and sustainability of aged care models utilising nurse practitioners, say the authors of a paper looking at the emerging role of nurse practitioners in Australian aged care.
The University of Canberra scoping study highlighted international evidence showing nurse practitioners (NPs) improved health outcomes and reduced costs in primary care and aged care.
However, it identified a lack of local evidence because the NP role was still new in Australia with only small numbers practicing, despite the role being established in the US for nearly 50 years.
The authors noted that 2010 legislative changes have removed some barriers to the implementation of the NP role in Australia and that a review was timely and now possible due the commonwealth-funded Nurse Practitioner – Aged Care Models of Practice Program.
“With legislative changes having addressed barriers of national registration and Medicare access, the evaluation of models participating in the NP Program provides the best opportunity to date to develop evidence for the role of NPs in Australia,” the authors wrote.
Announced in December 2011, the NP Program has funded 32 differing projects from 31 organisations with $18 million over four years to develop, test and evaluate a range of models that aim to improve primary healthcare access to residential and community aged care clients; demonstrate effective, viable and sustainable practice; and facilitate the growth of the NP workforce.
“The findings will make important contributions to understanding the viability and sustainability of different delivery models, their effectiveness and impact, the factors that facilitate and/or hinder their implementation, and stakeholder experiences.
“The evaluation will add to the evidence base for future health policy and health reform in the aged care sector,” the authors wrote.
Evidence for NPs in aged care
The paper reports on international reviews and studies which indicate NPs provided high-quality safe effective healthcare that is well-received by patients and can reduce costs.
“With many countries facing workforce shortages due to ageing populations, NPs are a potential resource to address this shortage, without compromising the quality of care,” the authors wrote.
Among the findings in the paper is international evidence that nurse practitioners in community aged care can improve patients’ quality of life and prevent medication errors, falls, emergency room visits, hospitalisations and death.
In terms of residential aged care there is evidence in the US and Canada of lower hospitalisations and emergency department admission rates and shorter hospital stays for residents when NPs were part of the aged care health team.
While the evidence is limited, the authors found Australian research findings supporting the expanded role of NPs in aged care settings with one study showing NPs could have a positive impact on community aged care clients’ health, quality of life, and access to supplies and services.
Aged care nurse practitioners in Australia: evidence for the development of their role was published in the Australian Health Review on 1 November.
The paper was authored by Shannon Clark, Rhian Parker, Brenton Prosser, and Rachel Davey from the Centre for Research and Action in Public Health at the University of Canberra.